I challenge Zizi Kodwa to debate on jobs and the economy

08 January 2016

ANC Spokesperson, Zizi Kodwa’s remarks following the launch of our jobs campaign and billboard yesterday are very telling of a party that has no plans to create jobs and grow the economy. 

Instead of intellectually engaging with the content of our billboard and jobs campaign, Mr Kodwa chose to unwarrantedly pull the race card.

There is nothing racist about the billboard. 

It contains a live ticker that will start on 1,842,852 and count up by 1 new jobless person every 112 seconds, to show the total of 774 people that become jobless in every 24 hour cycle under the leadership of President Zuma’s ANC government.

The billboard contains uncomfortable truths for the ANC, and because it has no plans or hope to offer the unemployed and those that have given up looking for work under the ANC government, it chose cry wolf and claim racism.

Racism should never be used for cheap political point scoring. This is an insult to the millions of South Africans that experience racism on a daily basis. 

Racism needs to be treated with the seriousness it deserves and not as a convenient refuge for politicians that see it as an opportunity to whip up a frenzy, further divide South Africa, and avoid accountability. 

To prove that the ANC has no plans to arrest the decline in employment, and to allow South Africans the opportunity to compare the DA’s a five-step that would immediately tackle the economic crisis and create millions of jobs vs the ANC’s ideological confusion and inexplicable decisions that has seen unemployment rise to 8.4 million and 774 more people join the ranks of the jobless daily, I challenge Mr Kodwa to a public debate.

In the debate I will detail the DA’s plan which would be to: 

Invest in integrated energy, transport and ICT infrastructure for job creation;

Give more people the education and skills they need to get a job;

Radically reform the labour regime to support job creation;

Provide direct incentives for job creation; and

Create a nation of entrepreneurs by making it easier for South Africans to start and grow their own small businesses

The people of South Africa are not fooled by the ANC’s antics to avoid talking about the real issues of the day. 

Mr Kodwa must put his money where his mouth is and accept our challenge to debate this subject. 

Statement issued by Phumzile Van Damme MP, DA National Spokesperson, 8 January 2016