Govt’s patronage system ruining country – Mashaba

The country’s ruling elite was said to be a criminal enterprise bereft of ethical and moral values expected in a democratic dispensation.

The assertion was made by the former mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba who now heads the People’s Dialogue, a movement he said would soon convert to a political party. Speaking exclusively to Alex News on developments in the movement, he derided the country’s leaders and claimed, “They are a criminal syndicate and collapsing the country which should be freed from their grasp and the justice system protected so that they don’t use it for their own self-interest.

“The ‘syndicate’ is keen to incapacitate the justice system for their own interest and in the process, create a conducive environment for foreign criminal elements to infiltrate the country, access its resources and stain its image. Tough decisions are needed now to save the country and free it through exemplary leaders.”

This, he added, would not happen overnight or neither through shortcuts but long term commitments which mature democracies embraced.

He urged for the National Prosecution Authority to be exemplary by prosecuting the corrupt to endear itself to the citizens of the country. “Solid evidence of graft by leaders and bureaucrats from local to provincial and national levels has been presented to them.” This said while he decried the authority’s inaction which he said had prompted him and others to pursue some of the cases through private prosecutions. “It’s the only way to try to recover resources which should have been channelled for public benefit.”

Mashaba also urged for government to create an enabling environment for economic growth by developing and maintaining bulk infrastructure to encourage local and international investment. “They should engage in private-public partnerships to ensure quality housing developments away from the connected and unskilled tenderpreneurs whose housing delivery record has been shoddy.”

He berated bureaucrats who had been fingered in corruption and claimed they part of a patronage system that did not work in the public’s interest. “Many are unfit for purpose and are not subjected to competency assessment.”

Mashaba who relinquished the mayoral post at the same time as former DA leader Mmusi Maimane quit after they accused their erstwhile party of allegedly abandoning its non-racism mandate, said he wasn’t aware of Maimane’s plans. ” If his [Maimane] stance is anti-ANC and citizens want us to work together, it will be wonderful to do so.”

He concluded by dismissing the DA as a ‘white party’ with no hope of ever governing the country.

Related article:

https://northeasterntribune.co.za/254670/mashabas-movement-moves-closer-to-being-a-political-party/