RE: OPPOSITION REDUCING POLITICAL DISCOURSE TO GUTTER POLITICS

The ANCWL is deeply concerned at the levels the opposition is reducing itself to in an attempt to gain maximum media coverage, at the expense of constitutional processes that are still ongoing.

A clear example of this would be the March led by Helen Zille in Nkandla to President Jacob Zuma's home, this was nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt by Zille and an act of utter provocation. As usual Zille does whatever she can to get her face in the newspaper and on television. It speaks of the desperation of the DA to get publicity.

Instead of focusing on coming up with solutions to society's problems they simply focus on attacking the ANC. This does however give the ANC some sense of comfort because a party that does not challenge the ANC on an ideological and political level, a party that stands for nothing except attacking the ANC can never be a viable challenge. Zille's visit to "look" at the President's home served absolutely no purpose and we believe the majority of the population saw through her pathetic attempts to get publicity.

The vote of no confidence tabled by opposition parties in parliament is another fruitless publicity stunt to distract the ANC from the mandate given to us by the people of South Africa to govern and serve them.

This is not a vote of no confidence in the President, but, a vote of no confidence in the ANC who deployed Jacob Zuma into that position. It is also a vote of no confidence in the Farlam Commission of inquiry investigating the Marikana tragedy. It is a vote of no confidence in the Public Protector and a vote of no confidence in the treasury investigation into expenditure at the President's home. It is a vote of no confidence in the judiciary and the processes the DA initiated, and the processes it should follow to ensure their own court order is adhered to.

The DA and the other opposition parties that jumped onto this vote of no confidence band wagon should be ashamed in the manner they have conducted themselves, they have let down their constituency who can no longer take them seriously due to the ridiculous manner they are conducting their political debates. It is a complete slap in the face of those who believe in the constitutional processes of our country. This cheap politicking is nothing but an attempt to tarnish the image of the ANC and the President.

We expected that going into Mangaung would excite people within the ANC but the excitement seems to have taken hold of the opposition who are trying to use this as an opportunity to tear into the ANC.

However they are clearly failing in their feeble attempts. Even at the height of tension the campaign to distract the organisation and taint our image have not misled the people of South Africa, this is evident from the results of recent by-elections where the ANC won 11 out of 15 wards, even gaining a ward that previously belonged to the DA. This is a solid indication that the electorate has confidence in the ANC.

Clear published research by the South African Institute of Race Relations rubbishes the opposition's claims and proves that despite how the opposition tries to fool the population, the ANC government under the leadership of Comrade Jacob Zuma does deliver. "The ANC may be accused of a lot of things, but the data we have published is unambiguous that the ANC and the government it leads deserve considerably more credit for improving the living standards of poor and black South Africans," SAIRR deputy chief executive Frans Cronje said in a statement released earlier this year. He went on to say "A myth has taken hold in South Africa that service delivery was a failure; however research we have published over the past several years suggests that this is not the case." This is a myth generated and fuelled by the oppositions smear campaign against the ANC.

We urge the opposition to take itself more seriously and raise the level of political discourse to the sensible level that South Africans have come accustomed to.

The ANC Women's League places a vote of confidence in the constitutional processes of the county, in the ANC and in the President of the country, comrade Jacob Zuma.

Statement issued by Troy Martens, on behalf of the ANC Women's League, November 9 2012

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