Zuma hotline 'dysfunctional'

2009-10-02 14:27

Michael Hamlyn

Cape Town - The DA is seething about President Jacob Zuma's much-heralded complaints hotline, which it says is dysfunctional.

Having tested the hotline 46 times during the past three weeks, the party has been able to register only four complaints, and has not been given a reference number for any of them.

DA leader Helen Zille said on Friday that 42 calls failed to get through. And the callers spent a total 572 minutes on hold – a total of nine hours and 32 minutes.

"For the last two weeks, the DA has not been able to register a single complaint because not once has our call been answered," Zille said.

'Ethos of accountability'

She added: "When President Zuma launched the hotline, he said he wanted to create an 'ethos of accountability'. During his State of the Nation address he undertook to treat every complaint as if it were the only one. As every day passes, that commitment rings increasingly hollow.

"The President announced the hotline in his State of the Nation address, on 3 June. It was launched three and a half months later, on 14 September.

"At the end of the first week, it was clear the presidency had designed a system that could not meet the requirements of the undertaking. By the second week, things had not improved. And by the third week, the situation is completely inadequate and - at least in practical terms - dysfunctional."

- I-Net Bridge (News24)