No sign of Pityana's letter
2013-02-26 22:29
Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma has not yet received
a letter in which academic Barney Pityana is said to call for his resignation,
the presidency said on Tuesday.
Pityana wrote in the Sunday Independent that he had asked
Zuma to quit.
He wrote: "My... motivation for taking this step is
the recognition that we have to pull back from the precipice - or to coin a phrase,
from this 'moral cliff' - where any sense of public good or virtue, loyalty or
restraint are absent, and the moral sensitivity of the nation is in paralysis.”
Presidency spokesperson Harold Maloka said Pityana's
criticism of Zuma had been noted.
"Government appreciates constructive criticism which
should assist in the governance and improving of the lives of the people of
this country," Maloka said.
"However, Pityana's article deliberately ignores the
gains our country is making under this administration and leadership of
President Zuma. He further fails to offer solutions to the challenges facing
the country."
Pityana said South Africans deserved better than what
they were getting.
He criticised Zuma and the ANC, saying they lacked
motivation, skills and ideas to transform the country.
Maloka said Zuma's guideline was the National Development
Plan, which called for every South African to have water, electricity,
sanitation, jobs, housing, public transport, nutrition, education, social
protection, quality healthcare, recreation, and a clean environment.
- SAPA
