South Africa may have won political freedom in 1994‚ but the real work is to turn that political freedom into economic opportunity for all‚ Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said on Wednesday.
In a Freedom Day message to residents of the informal settlement of Zandspruit on te West Rand which was wracked by protests recently over a lack of service delivery‚ Maimane said that this work had yet to be done.
The people of Zandspruit‚ like so many other forgotten communities across South Africa‚ were not yet free‚ he added.
“Unfortunately for many‚ the liberation movement that became the party of government took their foot off the accelerator once this political freedom had been achieved‚ and we have been coasting slower and slower ever since. Today‚ in 2016‚ we have come to a complete stop‚” Maimane asserted.
Corruption was robbing people of their true freedom‚ he said.
“Corruption takes money that could be spent on opportunities for the poor‚ and redirects it to the pockets of the powerful and well-connected. Corruption is the greatest evil facing our democracy and is undermining our freedom.
“But it has now been joined by a new kind of corruption: state capture. This ANC government has allowed the state to be captured by a private family that has never been elected. This is undermining all of our democratic freedoms.”
Maimane added that corruption was getting worse.
“We thought Nkandla was bad. At Nkandla‚ the President spent R246 million of public money. You would have thought that after the Constitutional Court told the President that he had violated his oath of office‚ just a few weeks ago‚ the President would be embarrassed.
“But now‚ President Zuma has ordered himself a new jet for R4 billion. Last Friday‚ 22 April‚ Armscor published the tender for the lease of a new luxury jet following their Request for In-formation (RFI) last year. While the exact specifications for the new tender are not publicly available‚ the RFI stipulated a luxurious aircraft with an interior that meets VVIP standards and has a range of 5‚500 nautical miles non-stop with 18 passengers on-board‚ or 7‚200 nautical miles non-stop with 30 passengers on-board‚” the DA leader stated.
R4 billion was equivalent to 16 Nkandlas‚ he said.
“That’s not his own money. It is public money — your money. Our president can order a R4 billion new jet for himself‚ but communities like Zandspruit do not have a reliable electricity connection. This is how corruption robs us of freedom and opportunity.”
Many South African communities not yet free‚ says Maimane
In a Freedom Day message to residents of the informal settlement of Zandspruit on te West Rand which was wracked by protests recently over a lack of service delivery‚ Maimane said that this work had yet to be done.
The people of Zandspruit‚ like so many other forgotten communities across South Africa‚ were not yet free‚ he added.
“Unfortunately for many‚ the liberation movement that became the party of government took their foot off the accelerator once this political freedom had been achieved‚ and we have been coasting slower and slower ever since. Today‚ in 2016‚ we have come to a complete stop‚” Maimane asserted.
Corruption was robbing people of their true freedom‚ he said.
“Corruption takes money that could be spent on opportunities for the poor‚ and redirects it to the pockets of the powerful and well-connected. Corruption is the greatest evil facing our democracy and is undermining our freedom.
“But it has now been joined by a new kind of corruption: state capture. This ANC government has allowed the state to be captured by a private family that has never been elected. This is undermining all of our democratic freedoms.”
Maimane added that corruption was getting worse.
“We thought Nkandla was bad. At Nkandla‚ the President spent R246 million of public money. You would have thought that after the Constitutional Court told the President that he had violated his oath of office‚ just a few weeks ago‚ the President would be embarrassed.
“But now‚ President Zuma has ordered himself a new jet for R4 billion. Last Friday‚ 22 April‚ Armscor published the tender for the lease of a new luxury jet following their Request for In-formation (RFI) last year. While the exact specifications for the new tender are not publicly available‚ the RFI stipulated a luxurious aircraft with an interior that meets VVIP standards and has a range of 5‚500 nautical miles non-stop with 18 passengers on-board‚ or 7‚200 nautical miles non-stop with 30 passengers on-board‚” the DA leader stated.
R4 billion was equivalent to 16 Nkandlas‚ he said.
“That’s not his own money. It is public money — your money. Our president can order a R4 billion new jet for himself‚ but communities like Zandspruit do not have a reliable electricity connection. This is how corruption robs us of freedom and opportunity.”
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