DOCUMENTS

An early election is a bad idea - Makhosi Khoza

ANC MP says the DA's call is the worst form of opportunism

An early election flies against constitutionalism, democracy, moral and ethical society

2 September 2017

It is unethical to disregard the will of the people. The ANC was given an overwhelming constitutional mandate to govern South Africa for 5 years. Admittedly, it's leadership is not acting consistent with that mandate. It cushions amoral leaders. Is the ANC current leadership too compromised to take a decisive moral stand?

May be we should pass a vote of no confidence in all ANC leaders who are morally compromised. Eish! I may be cutting close to the bone. Why has the leadership failed to decisively deal with politics of patronage? Are they also beneficiaries? Alternatively, are they scared of vacating their current positions because hell will break loose? I don't know...

Given the fact that RSA has proportional representation electoral system, only the ANC could remove and replace the President within the 5 year term with its over 60% majority.

May be we need an ANC sponsored vote of no confidence in the President, after all. That way we keep the ANC in power for 5 years consistent with the wishes of the people. That will give the ANC time to clean up its mess and regain loss public confidence.

The ANC has a lot of moral and ethical leaders even in the back benches and outside its structures. I'm talking about the victims of gatekeeping. Shouldn't we try to get them back? Eish! It's hard. Many good ones are not ANC members in good standing.

The problem with the ANC currently is that it behaves like a royal family where only certain ordained people of a specific blood line could assume this position. We also make a wrong assumptions that by virtue of one's struggle credentials, positions held in different structures of the alliance and government since 1994, therefore they are good leaders.

Most of these leaders have no experience except being MPs, Ministers or Deputy Ministers. Some are terrified of being out of government or ANC positions.

The current political environment needs courageous leaders with high moral stamina. We cannot afford to nurse people's insecurities.

This is the current reality. The ANC lost the legislative capital, Cape Town. It lost the executive capital, Tshwane (Pretoria). It lost the economic hub and judicial capital, Johannesburg. What did all they these ANC leaders do? As long as they have positions, they are comfortable.

We must never allow opportunism to creep in when we are genuinely confronting the challenges facing our country.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) call for early elections is the worst form of opportunism. The DA knows that the ANC is at weakest right now. Its call for an early election confirms its desperation to return the white supremacist minority rule through the back door.

Notwithstanding Maimane's efforts to transform the DA, it remains a comfortable home for the Nationalist Party. It is a nest of a new covert form of racism. This new form of racism parades blackness in the front office and keeps white racism in the back office. That is where the engine and political architecture of the DA resides. The black front does what the white back office directs.

The reason why our people withheld their vote instead of voting for the DA or EFF was because they were sending the strongest message to the ANC on the severity of consequences of its unresponsiveness and disregard for the public legitimate expectation and call. Zuma must step down. Admittedly, the rot runs deeper than Zuma. Hence, I think we need a total leadership overhaul in the ANC if we are to survive beyond the first mission of getting South Africa where it is now.

South Africa has a constitution. The ANC current leadership should avoid the temptation of undoing a good foundation that we have laid. I get worried when my ANC leaders blame the judiciary for our problems and not themselves.

The DA must never mistake our stand as ANC MPs as being against the ANC. We cannot vote the ANC out of power. We are voting corruption out of the affairs of RSA.

We want a truly non-racial, non-sexist, moral, ethical, inclusive democratic and prosperous society for all. This is not negotiable.

Those of us within the ANC who voted against President Zuma's amoral leadership, we did so as part our attempt to get the ANC leadership to understand that when faced with choices between the South African citizens and one of our own who is amoral and unethical, our choice would be unambiguously be the people of the Republic. As ANC MPs, we are upholding the RSA Constitution and acting consistent with our oath of office as servants of the South African people.

As I said previously, I will not join the DA.

The ANC term of office is 5 years, which comes to an end in 2019.

The call for early elections is rejected. We believe in democracy. We are confident that the ANC got the message.

We may be persecuted and punished but ours was to persuade the ANC MPs to do the right thing. The few that voted in support of the motion heard the public call of removing President Zuma.

Once more in my personal capacity, I am still urging President Zuma to step down as his failure to do so prevents the ANC to reflect objectively.

I also urge my ANC leadership to institute a disciplinary action against the President before it charges everyone else. When the head is rotten, it paralyses the entire organisation. The head of any institution reflects and represents its moral compass.

We cannot open ourselves to attacks from opportunists simply because we refuse to decisively root out corruption in our glorious movement.

If we do not so, our people will vote us out in 2019. The ANC leadership indecision is subjecting South Africans to coalition government. This form of government system is extremely problematic as more time is spent reconciling irreconcilable ideologies, policy approaches and perspectives. It is more about personalities than leadership. It derails service delivery. It is one of the worst forms of democracy as instability defines its character.

Right now South Africa needs stable, moral and ethical leadership so that it can attract private capital to invest in our economy. We need jobs, more jobs and more jobs. The restoration of the dignity of black Africans and coloureds in particular fades away when they are jobless, hungry and hopeless.

The DA is a preserve of minority interests. It only cares about profits and not people. We are about people, productivity and off course profits after people. Whereas the DA is profits, profits and profits for few people.

ANC shape up, it is already too late. Let the backbenchers rescue this sinking ship. The frontbenchers are failing the ANC mission, South African people and African Continent.

Issued by Makhosi Khoza via Facebook, 3 September 2017