Democratic Alliance chief whip John Steenhuisen said on Wednesday evening that voters needed to give the ruling party a “snotklap” at the polling stations on August 3.
Speaking in Kloof, Steenhuisen said the African National Congress (ANC) knew it was losing votes because it suddenly appeared to be taking note of unhappiness about its decisions.
“Suddenly the Guptas are a problem, Hlaudi Motsoeneng is a problem,” he said.
August 3 was more than just a date for the local government elections, he said. It was going to be a referendum to decide on the direction of the country.
“Jacob Zuma may be prepared to ignore the Public Protector and the courts, but he cannot ignore the voices of the people.”
He said the choice was simple – either follow the ANC’s path of corruption, low growth and economic turmoil or “strike a bold new path” with the Democratic Alliance.
Jacob Zuma “seldom tells the truth”, he said, with the exception being his statement on the ANC coming before the country.
“This was a profound statement for a president to make,” he said.
“If the party is first, you must ask yourself where you are on the pecking order. If the party is first, then the people of the country are last. Jacob Zuma’s internal battles come first and South Africans and the economy are second…the laws of the republic come second,” he said.
Referring to international relations minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane saying she heard about Brexit on the television, Steenhuisen said the hole in her head appeared to be an affliction Jacob Zuma also suffered.
“Their brains leaked out a long time ago,” he said.
“South Africa needs a president that will put the country first, and that man is Mmusi Maimane,” he said. “Jacob Zuma doesn’t belong in the union buildings, he belongs behind bars.”
Steenhuisen said Zuma had an inflated cabinet because he had many factions within the party to keep happy, adding the ANC was confusing the country and investors.
“Their confusion is harming the economy and economic growth. We need investors but they are putting off investors with their confused policies.
“Zuma is happy to send his ministers overseas to ask for entrepreneurs and investors, but then passes laws about land expropriation. Why would investors come to this developing economy to invest when they can go to other developing economies? Investors want certainty,” he said.
“You have a date with destiny…let’s force a spring of change on 3 August,” he said.
Speaking at the same event, former DA leader Tony Leon said there had been a huge “brouhaha” about the DA “appropriating” the image of Nelson Mandela for parts of its election campaign.
He said that in the United States, democrats, republicans and independents used republican president Abraham Lincoln as a symbol of what was good about the country, not a particular party.
The ANC of Jacob Zuma was not the ANC of Nelson Mandela. Zuma and the ANC had “sucked the yolk” out of the party of Nelson Mandela and left an empty shell, Leon said.
“In 2000 we got a credit upgrade. Sixteen years later we are getting downgraded. Growth has halved, debt has doubled and one million South Africans have lost their jobs,” he said.
South Africa needed a political shock; all of the violations of the rule of law by the ANC government could not go unpunished at the polls.
“No nation, no country, no democracy can remain relevant unless it is refreshed,” he said.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
