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Zille: ANC divisions over greed
11/01/2008 18:11 - (SA)
Cape Town - The deepest divisions in the African National Congress were driven not by ideology, but by greed and lust for power, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Friday.
Writing in her first online newsletter of the year, she said that given the richness of the spoils on offer, it was not surprising that bitter rivalries had developed between factions.
She said the ANC's "much-vaunted" project of transformation was not about lifting South Africans out of poverty or redressing the racial imbalances of apartheid.
"It is about the creation of a new politically-connected elite bent on gaining access to the state and the wealth that can accrue if that access is abused for personal gain," she said.
This was not to say that Jacob Zuma's ascendance to the party presidency had nothing to do with ideology or that it was not a triumph for "the left".
If and when Zuma attained the presidency of the country, he was sure to implement populist policies designed to placate his left-wing allies and maximise his support.
"But this is likely to amount to little more than preferential access to resources, positions and contracts for the few who claim to represent the workers and the poor.
"The sad irony is that the policies they espouse are more likely to deepen poverty for the majority," Zille said.
As Zuma set about entrenching his political power, his comrades in business - the Shaiks, Don Mkhwanazi, Vivian Reddy and others - would be unashamedly positioning themselves to enjoy the spoils.
"It is this combination of socialist rhetoric masking crony capitalism that will characterise the ANC under Zuma," she said.
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