Cape Town - Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba used a government dialogue with Cape Town residents on Thursday to take a dig at the Democratic Alliance and its policies.
“They are not the devil's brothers. They are not the devil's relatives. They are the devils themselves,” he told the packed OR Tambo Hall in Khayelitsha.
“And so our modern-day devils, two-legged as they are, are liars and cannot face the truth.”
He said the truth was that the African National Congress had created conditions in the country that showed “we have a good story to tell”.
He was speaking at an event that had been billed as a dialogue between his department, Eskom and Transnet, and residents.
Both Eskom and Transnet gave brief presentations on their willingness to involve residents in various projects and feedback on improvements for their areas.
Residents were given an opportunity to ask questions before Gigaba's speech.
A large portion of the crowd was dressed in the black, green and gold of the ANC. The various entertainment acts also waxed lyrical about the party and got the crowd to join in ANC songs.
Gigaba was applauded for speaking out on the DA's policies on land, saying the party wanted land to remain in the hands of a white minority.
“We have to vote because they don't want us to change the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle and replace it with the just and equitable compensation principle.
“This is what these coming elections are about. This is what everything we are doing on a daily basis is about.”
He criticised the party for its claim of creating six million “real” jobs.
“They have not been able to build one real job in the Western Cape. How will they manage to build six million real jobs anywhere in South Africa?” he asked.
Gigaba said it was not right to call Eastern Cape residents living in Cape Town “refugees”, referring to a comment made in the past by Western Cape premier and DA leader Helen Zille.
He said many people had to support more than two people and sent their salaries back to the rural areas of the Eastern Cape to feed their families.
“These are the same workers who are subsequently called refugees in the Western Cape, in the country of their birth, in the country they died defending.
“This is your country. You cannot be told where to go.”
Gigaba said the ANC was a party of the future, not a party of the past or present.
Over the last five years, the government had spent R1 trillion building new infrastructure, which had resulted in the emergence of new industries and factories, he said.
“We're seeing state-owned companies investing more money into skills development... for a change, we're beginning to see state-owned companies beginning to increase their investment into the economy.”
Sapa