Cape Town - The nine-point plan President Jacob Zuma presented during his State Of the Nation Address is aimed at making ANC members rich, DA leader Helen Zille said on Tuesday.
In her weekly newsletter posted on the Democratic Alliance's website, she said the plan Zuma presented on Thursday disguised his real intentions, which would benefit his network of loyal cadres.
“It is an insider enrichment scheme disguised beneath the mantle of the so-called 'developmental state', a word which in ANC-speak, means precisely the opposite of what the English language intended it to,” Zille said.
Zuma's nine-point plan included resolving the energy crisis, adding value to the country's mineral wealth, and encouraging private sector investment.
“In theory that plan looks quite good. But all South Africans know by now that while the ANC's plans are supposed to work in theory, in practice they don't,” Zille said.
Focusing on Zuma's call for the energy crisis to be resolved, Zille said this was what South Africa needed, but the African National Congress was not putting any plan into action.
“Firstly, they have just withdrawn the Independent System and Market Operator Bill from Parliament.”
The bill would have seen electricity parastatal Eskom facing competition from another entity.
“They canned the bill in order to protect Eskom from proper competition in the generation, transmission, and reticulation of electricity,” Zille said.
“If Zuma was serious about 'resolving the energy crisis' real competition for Eskom would be his first order of business.”
She said one common denominator in the plan was the number of crucial functions assigned to state-owned companies.
“The reason is simple - there is no incentive for state-owned enterprises to succeed, and no accountability if they fail. There is a bottomless pit of public money to tap,” Zille said.
Sapa