ANC LAUNCHES ELECTION CAMPAIGN

06 October 2013

Provincial chairperson of the African National Congress Senzo Mchunu has called on the people of KwaZulu-Natal to vote overwhelmingly for the ANC during next year's general elections. He was speaking during the launch of the election campaign which was attended by more than 15000 people at the Princes Magogo Stadium today.

"This is the period that requires us to embark on a dynamic and consistence process of interaction with our people across the length and breadth of this province. We have assembled more than 30 000 volunteers for a door-to-door campaign."

"Strong, honest and regular engagement with our people will be intensified at all levels to promote open debate, strengthen our democracy and ensure the participation of the people of this country including minorities in the programme of service delivery championed by the ANC-led government."

"We are approaching this period with one message - "the ANC remains a home for all the people of this province." We invite all progressive forces and activists, capable of adequately representing the aspirations of the minority communities including those in the White, Indian and Coloured communities to join the ANC as we prepare to enter the 21st century."

"Because the people of this country and this province in particular entrusted the ANC with the responsibility to lead the government of the day, we take full responsibility of what happened between 1994 and 2014."

"While we understand the need to celebrate the achievements of this democratic government since the attainment of democracy, we are open and comfortable with criticisms. Such a dialogue will assist he ANC to strengthen the government of the day in order to accelerate service delivery for the benefit our people."

"The ANC undertakes to spare no effort in continuing to reinforce measures to ensure clean governance in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. When people voted for a democratic government - they voted for a better life not for people who want to use state resources to enrich themselves. It is the integrity of those who handle public office with honour that generates the respect for the government institutions and create the image of good governance."

"Intellectual capacity, technical qualifications and possession of rare administrative or specialized skills are a prerequisite for an efficient and effective state yet these attributes are meaningless if employed to abuse the system to the disadvantage of the people for whose benefit the systems or institutions were created. This means the collective conduct of political leaders and civil servants creates the image of good governance or lack of it."

"As we launch this election campaign we want to encourage the people of this province to use this period to interact with the ANC and tell us whether you are satisfied with what is rendered by the government you elected."

"This is what democracy is all about - enabling the populace to determine what services they want and giving each and every member of the community the opportunity to participate in monitoring the delivery of such services."

"We condemn the recent bombing of houses of councillors in Richmond and we think that this is a recipe for disaster. We cannot afford to plague this province back to violence. What we have witnessed we do not wish to see again in the future as this is a grim reminder of the past we wish to forget.

" There are reports of community leaders being killed under dubious circumstances. An open letter addressed to the President of the Republic J.G Zuma and to me in my capacity as the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal published by the Mail & Gurdian on Friday alleges that police are responsible for the shooting and death of community leaders. It will be irresponsible to take this as just mere allegations.

I want to assure the people of KwaZulu-Natal and the whole country that this matter is receiving my attention. I cannot rule out the possibility of setting up a team that will investigate these allegations. And when that happens, those who have evidence will be encouraged to come forward. The authors of the open letter to the Mail & Gurdian will also be encouraged to share this information with us."

"The ANC undertakes to do further work to ensure that violence, physical injuries and loss of life is avoided at all cost in the next elections. Hotspots will be identified for which priority attention needs to be given by the law enforcement agencies to create a safe atmosphere ahead of elections."

"To ensure a climate of free and open political activity in the national elections, the African National Congress is preparing for mechanisms to strengthen the cooperation with many political parties to reduce political tensions and cooperate with the law enforcement agencies. This message will be communicated to all our affiliates to ensure that the next elections are not marred by any degree of political intolerance. We also make an appeal to all political parties to deal decisively with intra and inter political violence. The perpetrators of this crime must be reported to the police."

"The ANC is determined to intensifying the fight against crime. We are making a call for the ANC branches and general members of society to participate in crime prevention campaigns, to establish the community safety forums and strengthen the fight to the reduce crime in general."

Statement issued by the ANC KwaZulu-Natal, October 6 2013

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