Letter: ANC, we will not be fooled

Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba warned that the "oppressors" would take over the government if people did not vote in large number. Photo: Jason Boud

Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba warned that the "oppressors" would take over the government if people did not vote in large number. Photo: Jason Boud

Published Nov 21, 2013

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The ANC underestimates its own electorate with its scaremongering, says Phillimon Mnisi.

Johannesburg - Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba is the second senior ANC member to utter the sentiments that ANC’s opponents and oppressors will take the country back should people not vote for the ANC.

This comes days after ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa told voters that if they don’t vote for the ANC, the “Boers” will implement apartheid again.

I believe this is a weak campaign strategy from the ANC.

First, the ANC underestimates its own electorate, believing South Africans are gullible enough to swallow such scaremongering.

Second, the party is unwittingly saying there exist “Boers” and “oppressors” who are geared towards subjugating blacks and returning them into apartheid.

The ANC is not in tune with the electorate and South Africans of all races.

This is a party that should be working towards social cohesion and reconciliation.

It is an admission from the party that it has in the past 20 years failed to reconcile the country.

The ANC cannot use sentimentalities to lure people into voting them into power in the coming elections after they have been given 20 years of opportunities to improve the lives of South Africans. Instead, they resorted to corruption and looting of state resources.

Accountability and transparency are concepts that do not exist within the party. They do not believe in the basics of democracy that public participation and openness lead to a formidable, trusting state.

In every audit, the auditor- general rebukes the lack of accountability from the public sector, mismanagement of funds and unauthorised spending, yet no measures follow as these culprits are protected by the ruling party.

Young people face an uncertain future because of unemployment. Transformation has been abandoned by the ruling party in order to appease the investors who would still want to dictate the direction of the country’s economic and social aspects.

Many young black professionals are filling the ranks of Economic Freedom Fighters because they have been exploited in silence while the ANC is watching and getting into bed with oppressors.

ANC big shots now have free shares in the private sector to further exploit blacks. The ANC is wrong to point fingers when they are the current oppressor.

The ANC needs to know that people will not remain loyal, and quiet forever while their lives are being destroyed and compromised for few individuals within the party.

Abraham Lincoln aptly captures this ANC’s lack of vision: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

Phillimon Mnisi

Protea Glen, Soweto

* The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Newspapers.

The Star

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