ANC leaders shooting their way to reach to the top
3 June 2016
Wandile Mkhize, Nhlakanipho Shabane, Jimmy Lembede, Makhosonke Msibi, Ms Zodwa Sibiya, Nathi Hlongwa, and Simo Mncwabe had their young lives snuffed out in Kwa Zulu-Natal between July 2012 and June 2016. We feel deeply sorry for their families. Who were they? They were either ANC councillors or ANC leaders. Why did they have to die so violently?
In the words of Jessie Duarte, the root cause of all the deadly violence is being prompted by “a fight about resources and power and leadership greed”. She diagnosed it correctly. Unfortunately that is how it will continue and more young leaders will lose their lives. The fight is getting dirty and very dangerous.
It is not hard to explain why violence is becoming endemic. Mr Zuma graphically demonstrated that the pot of glittering gold lies at the top of the peak. If you get there then you have had it made. Criminal charges will not stick. A humungous R250-million can be spent on so called security upgrades on your homestead with a multi-million rand fire pool that is actually a swimming pool. Wives can get top of the range vehicles for R11-million. Furthermore, opportunities in business for the family will abound in all directions. The glitter of the pot of gold, at the top, has made the ANC under Mr Zuma much like a South African taxi operation. In both, the gun settles who wins and who loses.
COPE has spent considerable effort in warning the nation that today’s ANC have neither passion nor commitment to upholding the Constitution or the rule of law. That is why the law of the jungle is increasingly the new norm. The ANC of today wants no impediments in the exercise of power. ANC top dogs will brook no opposition and exercise no constraint because the rewards are so extensive. The motto “now is our time to eat,” governs how the ANC exists and how it rules.
State capture is the new Holy Grail for ANC contenders. Membership to the Premier League is something to aspire to and fight for. Leaders who get to the top of the ANC mountain, mafia style, are as the mafia would say, “made men” and “made women” or like Mr Zuma, the ultimate “wise guy”. The gun is beginning to rule and things will only get worse. That is what happens when accountability is flushed down the toilet and democracy is subverted. In our view the democratic autocracy that the ANC has created is giving violence room to grow and spread. People should see this.
COPE warns voters not to give away their votes to help ANC leaders race to the top to satisfy their own greed and nurture their own ambitions. Clearly, the ANC is advancing the development of the mafia state. The development state has given way to the mafia state. Everything in the Zuma led South Africa is up for grabs. To get there, you shoot your way to eliminate obstacles or splash out the cash. Mr Zuma leads, the ANC follows. The rewards are so great that it does not pay to go by the book or adhere to the MFMA or swear by the Constitution. The short cut is the route of choice for ANC leaders. Those who vote for the ANC are voting for the advancement of the mafia state.
Issued by Dennis Bloem, COPE Spokesperson, 3 June 2016
