Durban - The ANC is scared of imminent change in its support, Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko told students on Monday.
“Across the country, the ANC is in retreat. They know that change is coming and they are desperate. This is why they lash out at the leaders of the DA,” she said in a statement.
Mazibuko was speaking to students at the Mangosuthu University of Technology in Umlazi on the outskirts of Durban.
Quoting extracts from Dr Martin Luther King jun.'s “I have a dream” speech, Mazibuko attacked the African National Congress and urged students to make a change.
She said the ANC had made personal attacks on Democratic Alliance leaders was because they could not go head-to-head with them on issues and because their support was diminishing.
“The truth is that the ANC can't even compete on the issues that affect millions of South Africans every day. So, when you hear the ANC insulting the DA or its people, remember that they do so because they have nothing else left to say,” she said.
Mazibuko said recent actions throughout the country were signs that people were fed up with the ANC and had seen the future in places like Tlokwe, in North West.
ANC councillors in the Tlokwe municipality twice ousted their mayor Maphetle Maphetle with a vote of no confidence, and replaced him with a DA mayor.
“And so I say to the ANC, keep attacking us. The DA will keep delivering. We let our actions do the talking for us.
“The people of this country are not fools. They see through your words and they know which party delivers,” she said.
Tackling student issues, she said the DA was aware of the challenges facing students. It was aware of the struggle to get a meal on campus.
She said the library was not functional because of a shortage of books and late arrivals.
The DA Students' Organisation (Daso) understood what the problems were, she told the students.
“Daso knows how to fix these problems. Daso will give students vouchers for those expensive books that cost over R1 000 to make them cheaper so that you can access the best materials for your studies,” she said.
She told students the DA was the party of the future, and the one which would give them a chance. - Sapa