Durban - The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) on Tuesday challenged the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to give South Africans a reason to celebrate Freedom Day.
Blessed Gwala, the IFP’s KwaZulu-Natal provincial leader, in a statement released on Tuesday, said: “I don’t think that it is possible to truly celebrate Freedom Day while corruption is rampant and many people go to bed with empty stomachs. How you can celebrate Freedom Day when you are hungry and do not have decent houses? How you can celebrate Freedom Day when people in authority are stealing public funds and crime is rampant in our country?”
He said that service delivery protests that were taking place across the country were an indication that the government had failed in its duty to provide basic services to communities.
“Twenty two years of living in shack settlements without access to basic services is no reason to celebrate. Having thousands of young people unemployable is no reason to celebrate. Instead of squandering millions of rand on so-called celebrations that are intended to cover up its failures, this government should focus its efforts on creating sustainable jobs and providing decent housing for our people,” he said.
He said that freedom from apartheid was a reason to celebrate, but that people could not celebrate if they were “prisoners to poverty and hunger”.
– African News Agency