MONTSHO MATLALA

Fired ANCYL president Julius Malema on Wednesday expressed his condolences to the people on Venezuela following the death of President Hugo Chavez.

Describing himself as a freedom fighter, Malema said in a statement: “I join millions of progressive individuals, formations and movements across the world in sending my heartfelt condolences to the people of Venezuela for losing a fearless, politically determined and ideologically steadfast leader in President Hugo Chavez.

“President Chavez is among the few revolutionaries and leaders in the 21st century who challenged the dominance of imperialism in the world and constantly exposed its weaknesses and failures.”

Malema said he was impressed by the quality of education and healthcare in Venezuela.He visited the Latin American country in 2010.

“We witnessed that under President Chavez, the standard of education and health in Venezuela had radically improved and stabilised.

“Under President Chavez, the people of Venezuela enjoyed the fact that beneath their soil are massive reserves of oil through affordable fuel for all the people in Venezuela (sic),” said the former youth firebrand, now a vegetable farming student.

Malema said the death of the leader would inspire the youth to fight for economic freedom.

“We in South Africa would once again want to assure the fighting spirit of President Hugo Chavez that we will continue the fight against imperialist control of our natural resources, and we will realise victory,” Malema vowed.

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