Ramaphosa can talk but he leads an ANC that cannot act

Note to editors: please find the attached soundbite in English.

ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa’s silver tongue will do nothing to stabilise South Africa’s sluggish economy and advance much-needed coherent policy.

The giant elephant in the room remains the fact that Jacob Zuma and those linked to the Guptas still occupy the Union Buildings and critical positions in the Cabinet. Zuma will continue to ensure that his friends and family amass wealth while millions of our people stay hungry and struggle to find a job, and Ramaphosa will not do a thing. The NEC’s failure to remove President Zuma earlier this week further entrenches this notion.

Ramaphosa is the same person who on a number of occasions defended Zuma’s corrupt activities and voted against motions of no confidence brought against him in parliament by the opposition. Nothing has changed except the name of the person who leads a dead and corrupt ANC.

Only the Democratic Alliance (DA) has the ability to bring about the much-needed change that South Africa deserves. This is evident in the metros of Nelson Mandela Bay, Tshwane and Johannesburg, where millions of South Africans voted for real change in 2016. Izinto zijikile for the better where the DA governs.

Ramaphosa’s speech paid lip service to the following crucial issues facing South Africa today:

Corruption in both the private and public sector:

If the ANC was truly serious about rooting out corruption it would start at home by recalling President Zuma, who has been at the centre of major corruption scandals over the last 10 years. Whatever interventions have been announced today they are undermined by the presence of President Zuma in government. We know that his presidency has been characterised by capturing our state institutions, looting and selling the country to his cabal.

The country’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) continue to suck billions of rands from the people of South Africa and function inefficiently. We must remember that it was Ramaphosa who was charged with fixing these entities under the auspices of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on SOEs, which has yet to deliver on saving the people of South Africa money – SAA and others continue to seek billions of rands from the Treasury not for the benefit of the 10 million young unemployed people but for the politically connected.

Concerning was the commitment to nationalise the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) while lauding its independence. This once again adds to the rampant policy uncertainty that has crippled the ANC for the past decade under President Zuma. It is clear that Ramaphosa brings nothing different to this space but only to pick up where his predecessor left off.

In DA-governed administrations we have cut corruption, arrested corrupt officials, who acted with impunity under the ANC, and extended financing to micro-enterprises to ensure that our people can begin empowering themselves and their communities. The people of DA-governed administrations know what it feels like to have a caring government that always puts the people first.

Unemployment:

Ramaphosa will not be able to deliver on his 1-million jobs mark the same way that President Zuma failed to deliver on his 5-million jobs promise because the ANC is divided especially on the economy and job creation. The people who are bound to suffer the most are the 10 million young South Africans who are job-seekers, a number which keeps increasing due to the sluggish economic growth.

Despite the crippling policy uncertainty in the country, the DA has prioritised city-led economic growth in order to run cities that create an environment critical for job-creation. This is aided by our commitment to rooting out corruption that will seek to divert state funds that are intended for the people that we serve.

Higher education crisis:

It is most disturbing that Ramaphosa failed to provide critical direction on the reckless announcement of free higher education by his predecessor which has created the crisis we find ourselves in. This was an opportune moment for the ANC to detail how it intends on funding higher education in a meaningful way that ensures that poor students are given the chance at a future that will not be characterised by debt and poverty. Instead, only platitudes were offered in this regard by simply stating that the ANC is looking into the matter.

As we head into the registration period at institutions of higher learning, millions of young people are uncertain about their futures while the ANC dithers.

Land issue:

Ramaphosa talks with a forked-tongue on the very critical land issue, when he talks “land without compensation” but “in a manner that not only meets the constitutional requirement of redress...”  The Constitution is clear where it states that land can be expropriated “in the public interest and subject to compensation, the amount of which and the time and manner of payment of which have either been agreed to by those affected or decided or approved by a court.” The issue of land in South Africa is a justice one which needs to be driven in line with the provisions stated by our Constitution.

The ANC has failed to roll out land redistribution in a way that restores dignity to those who have been denied it for over a century. In the DA-led Western Cape we have demonstrated how true commitment to land restitution coupled with the political will can deliver to those who require it the most. Redistribution in the Western Cape is done better and more effectively than any other part of the country where the ANC governs.

It became clear today that the ANC is truly unable to rid itself of the Zuma legacy. Under this government South Africans will only be offered empty promises which never materialise. It is an organisation that is unable to build a capable state that can grow its economy, cultivate employment opportunities for its people and put an end to corruption wherever it occurs. While the ANC battles between the pro Zuma faction and the Ramaphosa faction, the people of this country stand to lose the most.

That is why the DA will do everything in its power to hold government to account in Parliament and continue to restore dignity to people where we govern.

Come 2019 the people of this country will vote for a new beginning where real job opportunities are delivered, the youth benefit from a quality education system, the sick are treated with dignity at health institutions and, women and children feel safe under a professionalised police service.

Statement issued by Phumzile Van Damme MP, DA National Spokesperson, 13 January 2018