DA promises to 'clean up'
2006-01-28 18:13
Johannesburg - The Democratic Alliance launched its election manifesto on Saturday, promising to "clean up" the African National Congress' "service delivery mess" and "simplify" local municipalities.
"Today local government is in a state of crisis. If we continue this way, South Africa will fail," DA leader Tony Leon told party leaders and supporters in Johannesburg.
He said money that should be spent on basic services was "being wasted on an extra layer of bureaucracy, with half of all municipalities not being able to deliver basic services and in severe financial trouble".
Leon said that, according to a SA Institute of Race Relations' report, 6 000 service delivery protests had erupted across the country in the last financial year.
He said "less and better government not more" was needed and that "the state does not have the money, will, or the people, to deliver on its own".
Although the DA manifesto had policies targeting the poor, Leon said the rich would not be disadvantaged.
'We won't screw the rich'
Leon said: "Our election manifesto is more pro-poor without screwing the rich than any party has achieved in local government in 10 years."
Several of the speakers preceding Leon began their talks with shouts of "viva DA, viva" and "down the ANC, down". Most focused on what the party is calling "the ANC's lack of delivery, the corruption of its councillors and its failure to lead the fight against HIV/Aids".
The party's Cape Town mayoral candidate, Helen Zille, said the country's housing backlog was growing.
She said one in four households across the country had no basic services.
She said the party would provide free generic anti retroviral drugs to HIV-positive pregnant women and rape survivors.
In his speech, Leon said the party would "kick out" those who sold fake Aids drugs to the poor and desperate.
- SAPA