Nkandla: running away when you should answer for your wrong doing makes you a coward, not a leader

21 April 2014

Note to editors: the following speech was delivered by DA Parliamentary Leader, Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, in Kroonstad, Free State

Good morning. Goeie more. Dumelang.

It is wonderful to be here with you today in the Free State. 

Right here, in the centre of our beautiful country, the ripples of the change that started in Polokwane nearly two months ago are sweeping across the province; from town to town, from the Vaal river in the north, to the Orange river in the south.

And with it, a message of hope - a message that was inspired by the country we all dreamed of 1994 - is being heard across this land.

I can hear it here today. I can see it in your faces. I can feel the excitement that it creates in the streets.

Fellow democrats, it is a message that change is coming to the Free State!

It is the change away from unemployment and despair. 

It is the change away from corruption and poor service delivery and corruption. 

It is the change that only the DA can bring.

And it is change that cannot be delayed for a moment longer, because for South Africa to succeed, the Free State must excel.

This province is the breadbasket of South Africa. From these sweeping plains comes the maize and the wheat that feeds South Africa.

It is also a place of great potential wealth. The gold that is mined in the Free State constitutes 20% of the world's total gold production. It is this gold industry that forged our nation from deep within the earth. It is this industry that employs more South Africans than any other industry in this province.

If we can get the economy of the Free State working, we can get South Africa working again.

This is precisely what the DA will do if you give the DA's outstanding Premier Candidate, Patricia Kopane, a chance for five years.

Patricia will show this province what it is capable of. I can think of no better person to do it.

She will tell the ANC that while they may have given Jacob Zuma another chance here in Manguang two years ago, the people of Free State don't have to suffer the same fate. We can do what his party wasn't brave enough to do - we can show him the red card!

And we must, if we want to end the looting and the corruption which has become widespread in this province.

Mmuso wa ANC o fetotse Freistata ATM ya bona ya moshwelella- ho ntshuwa tjhelete mona, mane, hohle. Bobodu bona bo Freistata ha bona tekanyo kae kapa kae ka hara Afrika-Borwa.

[The ANC government has turned the Free State into its own endless ATM - taking money here, there, everywhere. This rampant corruption throughout the Free State government is unrivaled by any other province in South Africa.]

ANC ya Zuma e nka diketekete tsa dimiliyone tsa diranta eleng tjhelete ya setjhaba. Ba ithuhisa e bile ba lebetse ka setjhaba ae ba kgethileng.

[Zuma's ANC is taking thousands of millions of Rands of public money. They have enriched themselves and abandoned the people who voted for them in the first place.]

The Free State's Health MEC, Dr Benny Malakoane has left his department of health to ruin while he bankrupted the Matjhabeng Municipality by entering into fraudulent contracts with service providers - service providers connected to Dr Malakoane!

The head of the Free State government, Premier Ace Magashule, spent R140 million to build one government website. It was later revealed that Premier Magashule was using government marketing contracts to funnel this R140 million plus millions more of public funds to his company, the Letlaka Group. 

Empa ha se ANC ka hara Freistata feela. Bobodu ba ANC bo fumanwa hohle, e sita le ka ha-ra kantoro ya mo-President. 

[But it is not just the ANC in the Free State. The corruption of the ANC is everywhere right up to the Presidency]

The ANC government has spent the last five years upgrading President Zuma's private home at Nkandla at a cost of R246 million to you, the people of South Africa. This money was diverted from other government projects that would have benefitted thou-sands of South Africans. But instead, it has only benefitted one South African, Mr Jacob Zuma. And when the DA called for this gross example of corruption in South Africa to be investi-gated by the Public Protector, ANC ministers did everything possible to cover it up. 

Even still, President Zuma delays. He has not once apologized to the South African people or taken responsibility for his actions. He tries to quickly hand over houses, through his "foundation" but refuses to pay back the money that could be used to build many more houses for people across the country.

And now, his caucus in Parliament is trying everything to delay the start of the parliamentary probe into this scandal - which is needed to finally tell the people the truth.

Why? Because they are running scared. They don't know what to say in the committee. How will they defend this theft, when the President himself is silent?

You see, they don't have an answer to this question. So the most recent strategy, no doubt cooked up in Luthuli House, is to manipulate our people's culture and traditions!

This is why Baleka Mbete, the ANC's national chairperson, now says that a man's kraal is a holy place - in order to defend the crime of Nkandlagate.

Shame on you, Ms Mbete. 

How dare the ANC use the people's culture to condone corruption. How can they insult so many of our people - who work so hard, day and night, to make a living for themselves in the most difficult circumstances?

Let me tell the ANC chairperson a truth here today, one that I am sure every culture in South Africa will agree with: running away when you should answer for what you have done wrong makes you a coward - not a leader.

ANC elekile ho thibela setjhaba ho tseba nnete. Nnete ya hore mopresidente o tsotella tsohle tse tswelang yena molemo e seng setjhaba sa Afrika-Borwa.

[The ANC wanted to stop South Africa from learning the truth. The truth that our president is a man that acts for his own benefit and not in the benefit of the people of South Africa.]

Ena ha se ANC e lwanetseng tokoloho.

Ena ha se ANC e lwanetseng boipuso.

Ena ke ANC e bolayang le ho fedisa tokoloho e lwanetsweng ka thata ka lebaka le meharo ya bona.

[This is not the ANC that fought for liberation. This is not the ANC that fought for democracy. This is an ANC that is eroding the very freedoms that we fought for because of their own greed.]

That is the great truth of the ANC under Jacob Zuma. It is no longer a party of the brave. It is a party of those who hide when they should stand up. 

Democrats;

Right here in the Free State, the corruption of Zuma's ANC robs South Africans of opportunities. It keeps people in oppression - unable to enjoy the freedoms of our constitutional democracy. It deprives South Africans of their fundamental rights. 

Rights such as access to water, education and housing. 

Daar is ‘n water krisis oor die hele Suid-Afrika en die Vrystaat is een van die provinsies wat die ergste geraak is. Van Bloemfontein tot Brandfort. Van Warden to hier in Kroonstad. 

[There is a water crisis across South Africa and the Free State is one of the worst affected areas. From Bloemfontein to Brandfort. From Warden to here in Kroonstad.]

Towns all across the Free State are withering because the ANC government cannot provide water. 

Last week, I walked in solidarity with the women of Pondile village in Limpopo to highlight the extent of the water crisis there. So too, I walked in solidarity with the women of Brandfort in the Free State. These women in Limpopo and the Free State all have taps in their villages. These taps are either dry and those that are not are full of contaminated water.

So these women, like too many other women in South Africa, are forced to walk for kilometers facing immense danger just to collect enough water to survive another day. 

I will not forget the people of Brandfort.

I will not forget the people of Pondile. 

And I will not forget the people of Kroonstad.

It is thanks to the tireless work of Patricia Kopane, who is also a Member of Parliament, that the needs of the people of the Free State are brought to the floor of Parliament.

Here in Kroonstad the DA, led by Patricia Kopane, marched on the Moqhaka Municipality in protest of the municipality's inability to provide water and other service.

In Johannesburg, the DA, led by Helen Zille, marched on Luthuli House in protest of the ANC's inability to provide jobs. 

DA e lwanela le ho sireletsa tokoloho le ditokelo tsa botho tse lwanetsweng ka thata. Ena ke DA e lwanang mebileng, ka hara bo-masepala, ka hara palamente ya Afrika-Borwa ho sire-letsa ditokelo tsa ma-Afrika-Borwa tse sireleditsweng ke Molaotheo. Ditokelo tsa ma-Afrika-Borwa ohle.

[The DA is fighting to protect our hard-won constitutional rights and freedoms. This DA is a party that fights on the streets, in Parliament, and in municipalities across South Africa for the rights of ALL South Africans.]

It is the DA that called on the South African Police to investigate the fraudulent contracts between the Letlaka Group and Premier Magashule.

It is the DA that called for the launch of the Human Rights Commission's investigation into water in Brandfort, where they subsequently found the Brandfort municipality guilty of violating human rights. And it is the DA that is fighting in Parliament to remove Jacob Zuma as president of South Africa because of Nkandla.  

DA e tla tsekisa bohle ba utswetsang ma-Afrika-Borwa. DA e tla makalla ANC ka ho hatikela ditokelo tsa ma-Afrika-Borwa tse sireleditsweng ke Molaotheo wa naha.

[The DA will hold those who steal from South Africans accountable for their crimes. The DA will hold the ANC accountable for its violation of constitutional rights.] 

Ka voutu ya haoDA e tla tjhentjha Afrika Borwa. DA e tla tjhentjha Afrika Borwa e be 

setjhaba seo Molaotheo o se labalabelang.

Met u stem sal die DA Suid-Afrika verander. Die DA sal Suid-Afrika verander in die land wat deur ons Grondwet beoog word.

[With your vote, the DA will change South Africa. The DA will change South Africa into the nation envisioned by our Constitution.]

The DA will rid our government of corruption by preventing government officials and their immediate families from doing business with the state. Under a DA government, those found guilty of corruption will not be allowed to hold public office.

A DA government is a government of delivery. In the Western Cape, where the DA governs, over 99% of households have access to piped water and over 90,5% of households have access to flush toilets. In fact, 76% of the DA-run Western Cape's budget is dedicated to service delivery in poor communities.

‘n DA regering lewer nie net dienste nie maar ook werk.

[The DA government not only delivers services but also jobs.]

Unemployment in the Western Cape is the lowest in South Africa. The DA has spearheaded initiatives like the Work and Skills Programmes and the Advancement of Youth Project. These initiatives provided training and skills to more than 6000 people in the Western Cape.

A national DA government will create six million REAL jobs and grow our economy at 8% per year. To do this, the DA will change South Africa into a nation of entrepreneurs by sup-porting small businesses and cutting government red tape. 

The Free State is province of hope. A province of opportunity. A province ripe for change. 

That change is the DA.

O na le matla a ho tlisa phethoho ka hara Foreistata. O na le matla a ho tlisa DA Foreistata e sita le ho Afrika-Borwa yohle.

[You have the power to bring change to the Free State. You have the power to bring the DA to the Free State and South Africa.]

Together we can bring change to South Africa.

Together we can bring jobs to South Africa.

Matla! Ke a rona!

Ke lebohile.

Baie dankie.

Thank you.

Issued by the DA, April 21 2014

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