Bloemfontein – South Africans deserve a better government, United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa said on Saturday.
“Surely we do not need to accept mediocrity, incompetence, and corruption, simply because it is inflicted by a democratic government instead of a repressive regime,” he told the UDM’s elective conference in Bloemfontein.
“In fact, quite the opposite; we should be striving for the highest standards. We should have a government that reaches for the ideals embodied in the Constitution,” he said.
“Instead, we find ourselves having to cope with the ANC’s misrule, which undermines the dream of building a better life for all.”
The UDM is expected to elect new leadership and launch its local government election manifesto at the conference this weekend.
Holomisa said the apartheid legacy was used as a valid excuse for the failures of the current government, but it was clear that more and more people were becoming disillusioned with the ruling party’s misrule.
“When the youth march into the grounds of Parliament, and protest in their tens of thousands at the Union Buildings demanding free education, it is clear what they think of this government’s failures.
“From where we are sitting, it is clear that the ruling party lacks the political will to implement its 1994 election promise of free education. Instead, they use every means possible to brutally suppress protests by sending in the police,” he said.
The ANC government prioritised elite projects, such as e-tolls and trillion rand nuclear deals, over the needs of the people, the UDM leader said.
“This means that the already overburdened taxpayer is being asked to foot the bill for unnecessary and wasteful projects, which are laced with corruption. To say that we, as a nation, deserve better, is the understatement of the century.
“We need a growing economy that creates jobs in order to end poverty and restore human dignity. And yet, we are saddled with economic policy that does exactly the opposite,” Holomisa said.
The UDM believes South Africa needs to convene an economic indaba to develop a blueprint for the country’s economy.
“This indaba must be similar in scale and scope to the Codesa [Convention for a Democratic South Africa] negotiations, which resolved the basic political direction of our country. Like Codesa, it must include all the stakeholders in society, so that we can loosen the stranglehold of the ruling elite and their dubious consultants.”
He said the ANC could no longer be trusted with running the economy.
“For proof, one needs to look no further than President Zuma’s reckless and irresponsible decision to remove [Finance] Minister [Nhlanhla] Nene and the impact that decision has had on our economy.”
On next year’s local government elections, Holomisa said the UDM needed to demonstrate that it was able to provide solutions for the problems facing communities.
“The forthcoming election is our opportunity to demonstrate on a local level that there are solutions to the challenges that face us. United in our desire to create better villages, towns, and cities, we can light the way and show which policies should be applied nationally,” he said.
“In this election you are not simply choosing between one political party and another. You can choose another five years of the same old discredited policies and poor service delivery, or you can choose change for the better.”
The UDM leader explained that his party aimed to build a country that unleashed its vast potential where each person, irrespective of race, gender, class, or geography, had the opportunity to contribute to a thriving prosperous nation.
“This local government election is our chance to show that it can be done. Starting in the streets where we live, we can build something greater, something better, to improve the lives of our families and loved ones,” he said.
African News Agency
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