Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma promised that his next administration would move faster on delivery.
“We want to accelerate the progress of delivery in the country in the next administration,” said Zuma on Monday morning, explaining that his government’s five priorities set at the start of his previous term in 2009 were still relevant.
“We want to move with a greater speed this time,” he said.
He was speaking at an ANC election briefing in Joburg.
Zuma dismissed suggestions that ANC supporters had left the party’s last big rally on Sunday while he was still speaking.
“We did not start exactly on time,” he said, saying some people who had travelled from far had specific times which their buses were leaving.
“The ones who started shifting was because of the sun, from the side where the sun was stronger, they started moving towards the shade…. They were not going out, they were shifting,” he said.
Zuma also dismissed suggestions that the allegations of corruption around the spending on his Nkandla homestead were a liability for the ANC in the election campaign.
“The people are not worried about it,” said Zuma, saying that “not a single person” asked about Nkandla during his campaigning around the country and that it was only the media talking about it.
He said he still has to complete his response to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela on her report.
Zuma referred to both the Public Protector report and the government task team report on Nkandla, saying neither found him to have been corrupt.
“There has been no finding of misconduct,” he said.
“No government has built Zuma’s house.”
Zuma spoke at length on the matter, dismissing it’s relevance.
“This issue of Nkandla does not bother me at all.”
Zuma said the ANC’s campaign around the country was going well.
“It has been a very wonderful campaign,” he said.
“We think the ANC will win the elections, overwhelmingly, not just by the skin of the teeth…. It will win it overwhelmingly.”
The Star