‘ANC is a shadow of its former self, cannot self-correct’
DA leader, Mmusi Maimane, says the ANC of today is not that of Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo, but a party of looting and extreme patronage.
LIMPOPO –Â Maimane spoke during the party’s provincial elective conference held at Sun Meropa outside Polokwane on Saturday.
He commented on the leadership the DA envisioned, saying the party needs a leadership that serves the people.
“The DA wants leaders who don’t tolerate corruption, who protect state resources and people who are not hell-bent on looting and stealing from the poor,” he said to the more than 600 voting delegates at the conference.
“Corruption is a cancer in South Africa as it steals the country’s most important resources. It is a fallacy to believe Dr Makhosi Khoza when she says the ANC can self-correct. Not when it was revealed by the Auditor General that money to the tune of R91 billion was blown on wasteful and irregular expenditure, and that only R81 million of that money was recovered. That is corruption at its worst. Surely that money could have put our kids through school.
He added that money could have been used for water and sanitation in schools in particular.
“I welcome investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). I have even been in consultation with international bodies to deal with private sector companies such as McKinsey and KPMG in the same way we dealt with Bell Pottinger. I will proceed to ensure that domestically we have a centralised committee that investigates all sectors,” explained Maimane.
According to Maimane, many Limpopo residents don’t have access to water and sanitation.
“Only the DA, which has already done so much in the municipalities and provinces it governs, is capable of changing things for the better. While the ANC is fighting among itself for state resources, the DA is focused on working with the people on the ground, convincing them to vote for the DA in 2019. We will be working hard between now and 2019 to ensure the ANC’s votes are halved by 50%, and more so that we are able to win the elections and bring change to the people,” he added.
Maimane pulled no punches in criticising President Jacob Zuma’s latest cabinet- reshuffle, saying word on the street was that Zuma was planning to oust Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, from his cabinet.
“Whether or not Ramaphosa is reshuffled makes no difference to us, as the ANC is a shadow of its former self.
“It is in the president’s nature to reshuffle people as his interests are no longer in bettering the lives of people but on procuring nuclear to loot more state resources before his exit,” he said.
Maimane reiterated the land restitution issue has dragged on for so long, thus reducing farmers to beggars in the land of their birth.
He said the DA was working around the clock with the relevant government entities to ensure those who own the land were given tittle deeds instead of leasing it.
“By transferring the land, government would be killing two birds with one stone; increasing productivity in the agriculture sector and helping to fight poverty and the escalating unemployment rate in communities, towns and cities in which we live,” he said.
