‘STOP A DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE ANC' - ZUMA
African National Congress (ANC) President Jacob Zuma today (22 February 2009) wrapped up his two-day mass mobilisation elections campaign of the Western Cape by addressing scores of supporters that thronged the packed Khayelitsha Stadium, making a strong call to some sections of the media to stop a disinformation campaign.
This follows untrue allegations published in the Sunday Times front page story that the ANC leadership had forced Madiba to attend the recent Eastern Cape rally, disregarding his ill health.
Explaining to the crowds amid applause, Zuma explained that last weekend's Idutywa ANC rally in the Eastern Cape was "a Madiba rally". Zuma: "Don't listen to newspapers who talk about us (ANC) as if they know us better than ourselves. Let me explain to you how Madiba - a stalwart of our movement - attended the recent ANC rally in Idutywa, in the Eastern Cape.
"After the successful launch of the ANC Election Manifesto in East London earlier this year, Madiba called me to congratulate the ANC on a job well done. He said I should find time to come to his house in Johannesburg. He then expressed his wish to accompany me to an ANC rally. I suggested a rally in Gauteng which is nearer his home. He said he specifically wanted an Eastern Cape rally, nowhere else. So that Idutywa rally was a Madiba rally. He called for it to fulfil his wish."
Added Zuma: "Now some newspapers are accusing us of endangering Madiba's health. Who are they to say this? This is Madiba's ANC, not theirs. He built this organisation together with other ANC leaders. When Madiba gives us a mandate, we as ANC volunteers have no choice but to carry out such an order. They claim to know Madiba more than us in the ANC."
Zuma called on the media to "report factually and truthfully without carrying out biased political agendas". "They should be reporting nothing but the truth. Madiba does not belong to a foundation but to the ANC. His (Madiba's) appearance in an ANC rally is a matter for Madiba and the ANC, not the media," said Zuma. He said: "D-Day - 22 April 2009 - is nearing close and their dreams of destroying the ANC will perish."
Reflecting on his Western Cape visit, which included a door-to-door campaign in Delft and Emfuleni, lunch at the Dullah Omar Centre in Rylands and an evening meeting with local businessmen, clergy and other key stakeholders in the province, Zuma expressed confidence that the ANC was poised to win the Western Cape in the 2009 elections. Said Zuma: "Those who are saying the ANC won't win the Western Cape are merely expressing their wish which will not be fulfilled. Your attendance here in large numbers confirm that the ANC is on the verge of winning the Western Cape."
The ANC, said Zuma, had defeated apartheid and was "committed to pushing back the frontiers of poverty". "In the ANC manifesto we reflect broadly on our plans on things that still have to be done. These include growing the economy. This manifesto reflects the views of the people of South Africa."
Zuma said the ANC was committed to its five priority areas which he outlined as the creation of decent jobs, education, health, crime and rural development.
"We want to create decent jobs for the workers of this country. We still have a lot to do especially ending the exploitation of workers," he said.
On education, he said: "The ANC will do everything to ensure that our people are educated. We are working towards achieving that objective."
He said the organisation has established NEC sub-committees on education and health "to work out implementation details because we believe that these should be addressed with urgency".
On crime he said: "We are going to introduce modern methods to fight crime. We are going to establish a new organised and transformed criminal justice system to fight crime. It is important to intensify our street and village committees, mobilising communities to be involved in the combating of crime. We are going to fight corruption from national to local level. South African people depend on ANC to deliver on these."
The SA Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) pledged to strive for an overwhelming ANC victory in the 2009 elections, with SACP Deputy General Secretary Jeremy Cronin saying that the SACP was "committed to the unity of the Alliance".
Also addressing the rally, COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi challenged those claiming that the 15-year ANC rule had yielded no changes, citing - among others - housing, education and water as areas where the ANC has delivered.
Statement issued by the African National Congress February 22 2009
