The fight for change has only just begun 

15 April 2016

Note to Editors: This is an extract based on a speech delivered by the Leader of the Democratic Alliance, Mmusi Maimane MP, at the DA’s “March for Change” to the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg earlier today.

Fellow South Africans and Democrats, today we march to the Constitutional Court – the highest court in our land and the bastion of our Constitutional Democracy - to make one thing clear: the fight for change in South Africa is far from over! Rather, it has only just begun!

Jacob Zuma’s days of secrecy, dishonour and disrespect for the people of South Africa are fast coming to an end. 

The ANC’s days of placing corrupt individuals ahead of ordinary hard working South Africans are fast coming to an end. Change is coming!

South Africans from all corners of our great country – in Tshwane, Nelson Mandela Bay, and here In Johannesburg - are seeing through this man’s false promises and hollow apologies.

Just two weeks ago, this Court found that Jacob Zuma failed to uphold, defend and respect the Constitution as the supreme law of the land by disregarding the Public Protector’s report.

In any other country in the world – just as we have recently seen in Brazil – a president who violated its supreme law would certainly no longer hold the highest office in the land. 

However for the ANC corruption is protected – not prosecuted. For the ANC, the Constitution and the Rule of Law are insignificant and seemingly meaningless.

South Africans and Democrats, the ANC cannot be trusted to remove Zuma - quite the opposite in fact. The ANC created him, elected him as their leader, and protected and defended him in Parliament when they voted to block an impeachment motion. 

Jacob Zuma has no choice but to comply with the findings of the Constitutional Court, and if he thinks that he’s cleaned his hands of Nkandla he is sorely mistaken.

I want to use this opportunity to make one thing abundantly clear: you will be held accountable and pay the price for years of corruption, lies and state capture.

Though politics affects every citizen, Jacob Zuma has made this bigger than just politics. 

When he stole taxpayer money, this became more than just politics. 

When he hid behind the ANC’s abuses of power to cover up the theft, this became more than politics. 

When the Head of the Judiciary, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, destroyed any doubt of the theft and deceit and Zuma still swore to acting in good faith, this became about more than just politics. 

Jacob Zuma: your pride and your disregard for your office are not just a political blunder. They are an insult to those who paid the ultimate price for the very democracy and Constitution that you trample on every day you remain in office, and ignore the calls of the people.

This has become more than just politics. 

Nkandla and all it represents – both of the President and his ANC government – is so much more than the R246 million. 

The DA, as it has always done, will pursue this matter in every way possible, both inside and outside of Parliament. 

We will not stop pursuing every avenue possible until Zuma and every other ANC and government official is held to account for their role in the most infamous corruption scandal since Zuma took office. 

Last week, I called for the establishment of a multi-party committee in Parliament to investigate whether Jacob Zuma misled Parliament in relation to the upgrades at his Nkandla homestead.

Today, we have submitted a letter to the President enquiring as to why exactly, after fourteen days, we still have seen no action on the Constitutional Court's orders. I have also written to the Speaker of Parliament, Baleka Mbete, requesting that she communicates with the President, on behalf of the National Assembly, to enquire whether he has yet reprimanded the Ministers involved in the Nkandla saga, and if so, what form that reprimand took. I further requested that the reprimands be published in the ATC for information of members.

In Parliament, we will be referring the Public Works and Police Ministers to the Ethics Committee; we have many questions for them and South Africa is awaiting their answers. 

We will be introducing a Private Member's Bill to amend the Public Protector Act in order to reflect in law the Constitutional Court’s finding that the Public Protector’s recommendations are binding. This will ensure that a President can never again attempt what Zuma so shamelessly did.

We will also closely follow the National Treasury enforcement of the Constitutional Court’s orders on how much Zuma must pay back, and submit proposals to the Rules Committee investigating why Parliament’s role has broken down and how to fix it. 

Outside Parliament, we will continue to pursue the criminal charges laid against Zuma, to investigate the role-players in this cover-up outside Parliament, and most importantly we will take our message across this country that change is possible, for South Africa deserves better than Jacob Zuma.

Nkandla represents the worst in rampant corruption, but it is just one example. Everywhere in South Africa, corruption is robbing the poorest of the poor of quality services and of the opportunity to get jobs.

We need change, and we need it now. 

The DA will fight for change through the courts, through Parliament, and through various constitutional bodies. But all South Africans ought to also fight for change through the ballot box on 3 August this year. 

South Africa deserves a government that fears voters instead of lying to them. Government should deliver results, not excuses. The DA works for the people, not the party, and you can see the results. 

The days of the ANC using votes to corrupt the State and undermine the needs of our people are coming to an end. Today, we say: We are upping the ante – Jacob Zuma and the ANC’s days of reversing the gains of our constitutional democracy will not go unchecked. We are coming for you, The people of South Africa are coming for you.

However, it’s about what kind of change we want. Many political parties will be promising change. South Africans, Democrats, I am talking about change that only the DA can bring. Change that cuts corruption and creates jobs. 

Democrats, nine out of the ten best run municipalities are DA-run. The ten worst? ANC-run. In the DA-run Western Cape we have the least corruption, the lowest unemployment, and the best service delivery. But it’s not just the Western Cape. DA-run Midvaal has the lowest unemployment of anywhere in Gauteng. We bring this difference everywhere we govern because it is part of who we are, from the ground up. The ANC knows this; they know we’re coming for them! 

Let’s tell a familiar story about the ANC and their underhand tactics. I had intended to march with the DA in Nelson Mandela Bay yesterday, but the local ANC government refused to allow it. Why? They feared it would conflict with the ANC event held yesterday. They are right to be scared! 

The DA is the most diverse party in South Africa. Today, twenty years ago, the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) officially began. The TRC was a critical process of transition for our country, and as the DA we honour this process and press on to continue the dialogue that began two decades ago, rather than dividing us even further. 

For true justice to prevail, we must speak to each other, not at each other. 

The DA carries the dream of non-racialism, of freedom, fairness and opportunity forward. We focus on what brings us together as South Africans, not divisive racial politics. When we promise service delivery and good clean governance, we mean it. 

For the DA, these are not pipe dreams, they are change we commit to everyday. This is the change South Africa needs. Zuma and the ANC lost sight of this long ago; Chief Justice Mogoeng only confirmed this. We can do better; we can vote for change. 

Zuma will not change. The ANC will not change. But South Africans can change the government they have by voting for the better South Africa we all dream of.

South Africans from across the country, in every city, in every town, on every farm, in every village, must use the power they have to vote for change that will bring jobs, and services, and stop corruption.

On 23 April we will launch a manifesto for change. A manifesto which will ensure that small businesses in Soweto no longer struggle; it’s a manifesto which will cut crime in Manenberg; a manifesto which will ensure the mothers of Queenstown are able to put food on the table.

If you believe in the supremacy of the Constitution, vote for the DA!

If you believe in change, vote for the DA!

Amandla!

Issued by the DA, 15 April 2016