Government slams 'no vote' campaign

Published Apr 15, 2014

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Tebogo Monama and Lebogang Seale

JOHANNESBURG: Former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils and ex-deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge have been slammed by the government for initiating their “No vote” campaign against the ANC.

Yesterday, the security cluster of ministers branded Kasrils and his group “irresponsible and treacherous” for their “Sidikiwe Vukani! Vote No” campaign.

“Let us remember that over the years since 1994, NGOs and the IEC (Independent Electoral Commission) have spent a lot of resources teaching people on how to exercise their right to vote. It is treacherous that after all that work and money spent people want to encourage South Africans to go to the ballot box and spoil votes. It is irresponsible,” said Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula yesterday.

But political analyst Moeletsi Mbeki said while he was surprised by Kasrils’s move, he could not blame him for his decision. Mbeki said the move showed Kasrils’s “disgust” at the extent to which the ANC had “drifted astray – morally and ethically”.

“I was in one of the ANC camps in Tanzania with Ronnie Kasrils and he is one of the most committed members of the ANC. He obviously thinks the ANC has gone astray, especially on (the) Nkandla (scandal),” Mbeki said.

He added: “So even the most dedicated of members who risk their lives like Kasrils feel very disgusted about taking this scandal of taxpayers’ money and paying for an individual’s palace. It’s totally abuse of the so-called national key point.”

The aim of the “No vote” campaign, to be launched at Wits University today, is to get Struggle veterans and other citizens to go to polling stations on May 7 and spoil their ballots by writing “no” on them. This is to protest against corruption and government policies.

Addressing journalists about election preparations in Pretoria yesterday, Mapisa-Nqakula said that Kasrils and his group were “a betrayal” of what the ANC fought for.

“The person should have come out and said ‘I am not going to vote’. This is a betrayal of what we fought for.”

Correctional Services Minister Sbu Ndebele was far more scathing,

daring Kasrils and Madlala-Routledge to start their own political party and contest the elections instead of calling for spoilt votes.

“They have no courage to put up an alternative. Our constitution gives you the right to start your own party. This is an irresponsible stance by those who do not have the courage to stand for something.”

Earlier, Public Service and Administration Minister Lindiwe Sisulu also slated Kasrils and Madlala-Routledge for their move.

“Let’s concentrate on the story of good (service) delivery. What they are talking about is issues of personal interest. It’s just a bad smell in a wind. Maybe they must say which branch they belong to and when was the last time they attended a meeting,” Sisulu said, speaking to Independent Newspapers on the sidelines of the ANC’s breakfast meeting with journalists in Johannesburg.

Kasrils could not be reached for comment, but he said in a radio interview that he had not renewed his membership since 2009.

ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said: “We are concentrating on our good story and taking South Africa forward. We don’t want to be distracted.”

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