Voters must thwart ANC's hunger for total power

Thursday, 9 January 2014 - South African voters must do what is in their power - vote to prevent the ANC from winning a two-thirds majority in the next election and stop them changing the constitution  (see Times report). .

If President Zuma gets his way, as he told supporters this week in KaNyamazane, near Nelspruit, he and the ANC will have unbridled power to do as they please. If the ANC gets total power in parliament, they will pass more laws like the envisaged Protection of State Information Act - the Secrecy Act - leading us back into the apartheid-era of secrets and dirty undercover operations.

Given unfettered power, we could see the end of all the hard-won freedom of the struggle - and not least, the erosion of the courts to protect our rights. We did not struggle to go backwards. The ANC will abuse its power and will put a halt to the work of the Public Protector in uncovering government mismanagement and corruption at the highest levels.

Zuma's hunger for unfettered power is the greatest threat our democracy has faced since 1994. If the ANC wins a two-thirds majority and the power to change the constitution, they will use it to benefit their cronies - and the ordinary men, women and children of our country will continue to suffer degradation, indignity and poverty.

We will face uncontrolled corruption, the wanton destruction of our institutions and, without doubt, serious curbs to the freedom we fought to enjoy in 1994.

Now more than ever, I appeal to all South Africans over 18 years old to register and to vote and to use that vote to stop the ANC from becoming the dictatorship that it strives to be.

Zuma has made his and the intentions of the ANC clear. They want power to benefit those at the top, while the average citizen struggles to get by.

I appeal to all thinking South Africans to stop Zuma and the ANC while they can. Enough is enough. Use  your vote say an emphatic no to ANC dictatorship  and yes to a clean, competent and accountable government of the people that respects and supports its citizens.

It is possible: we can do it if we vote.

Statement issued by Thabo Leshilo,  Agang SA's Communcations Director, January 9 2014

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