Ace, Guptas, ANC will keep the people of FS poor; arrest them all

1 February 2018

The Secretary General of the ANC and Premier of the Free State has never cared about ensuring that mothers are able to feed their babies, and the poor escape the cycle of poverty.

Dr Magashule, specialising in lying and looting, has only worked to make his friends, like the Guptas, rich while poor farmers from Vrede struggle to even put food on the table. Ace and the ANC have corrupted the Free State Provincial Government so that only family members are made millionaires overnight, while the poor go to bed hungry.

The ANC-led Free State is not a government for the people, it is a government for friends and family. If you do not have Ace on WhatsApp then you are going to continue living a life of poverty. If the Guptas do not know your name, you will never see a roof put over your head. If you aren’t the friends and family of Ace, the Guptas and the ANC then forget about the dignity of a job, forget about being protected from crime and corruption, forget about your children receiving a quality education.

When we talk about Ace using the people’s money for his family and friends, we must not forget that this is a man who sits next to ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa at Luthuli House. This shows that all that has changed at the ANC are the crooks who lead the party. Ramaphosa supported Zuma when he undermined the Constitution and captured the state. This is the same Ramaphosa who is too afraid to say the name “Gupta” – he has never said their name. Is he scared of dealing with corruption when it’s right in front of him? Maybe this is why he has said nothing about his friend Ace’s alleged corruption here in the Free State.

The reality is that the ANC, whether led by Zuma, Ace or Ramaphosa cannot be saved. The ANC is dead, and those who talk about its renewal are trying to raise a corpse from the dead, and are themselves corrupt. The only renewal taking place is a renewed energy to steal from the poor.

Magashule is not new to corruption, he’s a Doctor of Corruption and has had many years to perfect this sin.

In 1996, when he was MEC for Economics and Tourism, he was fired for using R6 million of your money to fly overseas trips; he behaved like a mashonisa by extending loans to his staff; he bought CDs and used this money to buy himself lunch.

Anything that Ace touches turns into corruption: RDP houses, the health crisis, the funeral of the late Health MEC, a website for the province. If I was to list them all, we would be here all day. But what I will say is that Ace and his friends have stolen millions, if not billions, from you.

This man cannot be trusted. A crook has been elected to lead this province and lead the ANC with Ramaphosa.

Fast forward and Ace has moved from stealing R6 million to R200 million. Why has he not been arrested?

Poor black farmers were used by Ace and Guptas as fronts to steal R200 million, which was then used to pay for the Guptas’ Sun City wedding and a private jet. Mosebenzi Zwane was also involved in the scheme designed to steal from the poor. Today, Zwane sits in Cabinet with Ramaphosa, instead of the jail cell he belongs in.

All of this has happened and continues to happen while Ramaphosa pretends to be fighting corruption. Deal with Ace and Zwane, Ramaphosa, and maybe we will believe that you are serious about corruption. They have stolen so much from the poor of the Free State and the country.

The truth is that the ANC only talks about fighting corruption, but does nothing because if they were to take corruption seriously there would be very few comrades left as Ministers, MECs, and Councillors. While Ramaphosa says nice things, the evil of corruption continues to rob our people.

Democrats, South Africans,

The Democratic Alliance is working hard to bring a new beginning and new government to the Free State but this starts with fighting corruption and sending corrupt politicians and their friends to jail. Ace, the Guptas and those in the ANC who have assisted them must all move from the back of luxury cars to the back of police vans.

Only the DA hits corruption head on. That is why we went to the Vrede Farm, with the Federal Leader Mmusi Maimane to see for ourselves what was stolen from the poor.

It is the DA that called on the Public Protector to investigate this matter so that those who have suffered, suffer no more. My colleague in the Legislature, Roy Jankielsohn, has pushed for the Legislature to take this matter seriously but they are dragging their feet.

We have asked for a motion of no confidence in Ace, because before he goes to Luthuli House full-time, he must be held accountable by the House that elected him. He must lose his pension and benefits that come with being a former Premier. He must go to jail!

Like the ANC has forgotten about you, you must forget about the ANC when you vote in 2019. We can arrest Ace but another corrupt politician from the ANC will replace him. We must remove this corrupt government like we removed a racist and corrupt government in 1994.

It is in your hands to give the Free State a new beginning.

Issued by Patricia Kopane, DA Free State Provincial Leader, 1 February 2018