Manifesto 'long on promises...'
2009-01-10 22:20
Johannesburg - The ANC election manifesto was "long on promises and short on credibility", DA leader Helen Zille said on Saturday. "Jacob Zuma's address today was no different. As always, it was long on promises, but short on credibility. Every one of Zuma's utterances is contradicted by the experience in reality," said Zille of the manifesto launched in the Eastern Cape.
She said Zuma's promise to fight corruption would not happen.
"This comes from a man who faces a charge of 783 counts of alleged corruption totalling R4.2m.
"If Zuma was serious about the fight against corruption, he would step down as the president of the ANC until his name was cleared in court," she added.
Zille also said that it was not true that the ANC-led government had excelled in fighting poverty and creating jobs.
"About 38% of South Africans remain without a job at all, let alone a decent one. Two out of every five South Africans continue to live in poverty," said Zille.
She said that Zuma's promise to use state-owned enterprises to create a better life for all people would also not happen.
"Fifteen years after ANC rule, these institutions are unable to deliver on their basis mandates.
"The continuing threat of rolling blackouts by Eskom is just one example of how inefficient these institutions have become," she said. Zille also said her party had welcomed 70 ANC members to its Limpopo's Namagkale branch.
- SAPA