Pretoria – The African National Congress of Nelson Mandela is gone and the ANC today, under President Jacob Zuma, is unrecognisable from the once-proud liberation movement, Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said on Saturday.
Speaking at the DA’s “We Can Win Rally” at the Freedom Park Amphitheatre in Tshwane in support of DA mayoral candidate Solly Msimanga, he said not a day went by without a new scandal.
“Corruption, Guptas, Nkandla, arms deal, SABC. This ANC under Jacob Zuma only cares about one thing – itself. Madiba’s ANC came to an end many years ago. The ANC that stood for freedom and unity and a better life for the poor does not exist anymore.
“It has been replaced by an ANC driven by greed and corruption. An ANC that has turned its back on the people of this country. And now that they are threatened by voters, they have started to turn on themselves.
“This wonderful city – the Tshwane that once celebrated our new president and our new democracy – has been turned into a war zone by fighting ANC factions. The scenes of violence and destruction that we saw in Atteridgeville, Mamelodi, and Soshanguve go up in flames do not belong in this city. These scenes do not belong in our democracy.
“But this is what happens when the ANC implodes: You, the people of this city, get dragged into their fights. That’s not what South Africans want. We’re a peaceful nation. We want a peaceful country that works. We want a country where everyone is welcome, and where everyone can make a contribution. We want the country that Madiba wanted for us,” Maimane said.
The ANC had no plan to create jobs, and service delivery had failed where the ANC governed. Zuma “symbolises corruption in the ANC”. What can he possibly promise when it comes to fighting corruption?”.
Therefore, the ANC was telling people they should vote ANC simply because they were black.
“That is what has become of the ANC – the party that once fought for freedom and non-racialism. The party that once fought for our right to make free choices. They have nothing left to offer voters. No plan for our towns and cities, no plan to grow the economy and create jobs, no plan to improve the lives of poor South Africans.
“All they have left is desperate racial mobilisation as they try to cling to power. I wonder what Madiba would have said if he could see this for himself. Jacob Zuma’s ANC could not be further from Madiba’s ANC if they tried. They have abandoned everything he stood for, and it will cost them dearly,” Maimane said.
African News Agency