Cape Town - The DA has accused President Jacob Zuma and the ANC of resorting to “outrageous racially divisive” statements while campaigning in the Western Cape.
The party said the “bluster” coming from Zuma and the ANC in the province this week could only mean that the ANC had arrived in South Africa’s “best governed province”.
The DA was reacting to attacks from the ANC which accused the provincial government and the City of Cape Town of only taking care of affluent and predominantly white areas.
During his mobilisation campaign in the city this week, Zuma also urged residents to help the party reclaim the city and the province. The ANC also slammed the DA for imposing “draconian” requirements for the use of Cape Town Stadium for Saturday’s January 8 Statement rally.
“The DA-run Western Cape leads the way in good governance and service delivery, and it is unsurprising that President Zuma and the ANC have resorted to outrageous racially divisive statements while campaigning in the Western Cape. This seems to be the only tactic the ANC has left,” said DA national spokeswoman Phumzile van Damme.
She said while the ANC “divides on race”, the DA would continue to “unite South Africans on the basis of good governance and service delivery”. “Census 2011 also shows that 99 percent of households in the Western Cape have access to piped water, 93.4 percent have access to electricity and 90.5 percent have access to flush toilets.
“This is the highest access in the country. President Zuma will further recall that by the time the ANC reached their final year in government in the Western Cape, not a single department was able to achieve a clean audit,” said Van Damme.
She said that under the DA, Western Cape government departments and entities achieved 18 clean audits and five unqualified audits.
“This is a much better performance than any other province and it demonstrates that the DA is serious about clean and effective governance. Voters have endorsed this good governance by strengthening the DA’s electoral mandate in each election since we took office,” said Van Damme.
“We nevertheless welcome the ANC to a province where… everyone has to do everything by the book, even the president.”
Cape Times