Only the DA can build One South Africa for All

12 January 2019

Today’s manifesto launch confirms that Cyril Rampahosa is just another driver of a completely broken vehicle. His speech today was full of more empty promises that all South Africans know he will never deliver on.

Today’s ANC Manifesto Launch today confirmed three things of vital importance to the people of South Africa: The ANC has not changed, Cyril Ramaphosa cannot deliver the immediate change our country needs, and his promises are empty.

At a time of acute racial division in our country, the President offered no leadership on how we can come together as a country and build One South Africa for All. The DA is the only party pursuing the vision of shared prosperity.

Most of what he promised has already been promised over and over again by previous Presidents, and have never been delivered on.

Ramaphosa showed no sense of urgency. All of his solutions are long term and slow, when South Africa needs urgent change now.

Nothing shows this more than his empty, pointless words on job creation. Ramaphosa promises 275 000 new jobs a year, but in his first year in the Presidency, South Africa lost 278 000 jobs. He lost more jobs in his first year in office than he is now promising to create. This shows how meaningless this promise is.

Even if he achieves this target, it will take 35 years to defeat unemployment (and that is without future population growth). Unemployed people don’t have 35 years to wait.

It will also take 35 years to deal with all outstanding land claims at the current wait, despite many promises to speed it up. Land reform claimants do not have 35 years to wait.

The President made no mention of combating the unfair access to job opportunities, where opportunities are reserved for the connected, and where people are forced to pay ANC councillors or sleep with officials just to get a job.

On education, the President spoke of teaching young children coding and the “internet of things”, while 78% of 10 year olds cannot read for meaning, and children are dying in school pit latrines. The President is totally out of touch with the real problems our country faces.

In honour of Jacob Zuma, who received a hero’s welcome at the stadium, the President offered barely a word on corruption and had no plan on how to tackle it urgently.

And the President himself has been tarnished by the same corruption suspicions by accepting money from the tainted Bosasa and letting his son benefit from them too. To say Ramaphosa is weak on corruption is an understatement. He is complicit.

This shows that the ANC is still a vehicle of corruption that has broken our country.

The DA is proposing tough real consequences for corruption, including 15 year sentences for anyone guilty of stealing public money.

On basic services, the President did not even mention the power cuts which have made daily life so much more difficult for our people, and which have hurt our economy so badly.

What is clear is that President Ramaphosa is Mr Delay rather than Mr Deliver, as he hides his inability to take action on any issue behind endless talk shops and summits. He is simply not able to make a clean break from the corrupt ANC that brought our country to the brink of a failed state. But more crucially, he cannot introduce the bold reform our economy needs to create jobs and access to opportunity.

The choice facing South Africans in this election is clear: between an ANC that cannot deliver the change needed, and the DA’s proven commitment to deliver the South African dream of One South Africa For All.

South Africa needs change and a true new beginning.

Change that fights corruption, creates fair access to jobs, creates honest and professional police, secures our borders and speeds up basic service delivery.

The DA proved that where we govern, we deliver on our promises for all.

Only the DA can build One South Africa For All. A South Africa that is united and where the economic inequalities of the past are redressed.

Statement issued by Mmusi Maimane, Leader of the Democratic Alliance, 12 January 2019