Maimane: ANC betrayed our struggle for a braai pack, some beers and a handbag

The ANC has lost sight of the goal and the time has come for them to be replaced and the party that should be entrusted to take over the role of turning around the fortunes of the country should not be one such as Congress Of The People (COPE) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). Instead an entity with a fresh approach such as the Democratic Alliance (DA) should be considered, not parties that broke away from the ANC.

These were the sentiments echoed by DA leader Mmusi Maimane on Saturday as his party launched its 2019 manifesto at the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg. 

Maimane said that having led the country into independence, ANC leaders had since forgotten their mandate and were now more concerned with lining their pockets with ill-gotten wealth.

“Our leaders lost sight of our goal. They realised they could make money off every job, every contract and every purchase that involved the government.

"Those who started out as liberators had ended up as tsotsis. And they were looting the Arms Deal, Bosasa and VBS while millions didn’t have money to get by. Corruption has stolen the dignity and the future of millions of our people,” said Maimane.

He added that while the ANC’s posters still alluded to a better life for all, what they really refer to is "a better life for some,” particularly those connected to the ANC leadership.

“As we have just learnt in the Zondo Commission, they betrayed our struggle for a braai pack, some beers and a handbag while millions do not have clean water to drink. Those in the ANC are drinking the finest champagne,” said the DA leader.

He said that those who believed that things would be better if the elected either COPE or the EFF were sadly mistaken “as the individuals leading these parties are cut from the same cloth, as they were also part of the problem when they were in the ANC.

“What they are interested in is their turn to also line their pockets with ill-gained wealth. It is time for South Africans to place their trust in a party that clearly brings a new vision and passion for a united [and] diverse South Africa,” said Maimane.

DA Chief whip John Steenhuisen echoed the same sentiments saying that it was time for change since the country was “really in trouble".

“Our economy is not working,” he said, adding that “there are 10 million unemployed South Africans, 57 people murdered everyday while 164 women are also sexually assaulted everyday under the rule of the ANC. What this DA manifesto is, is that it's a blueprint for the change that many South Africans long for”.

Maimane also added on Steenhuisen’s sentiments saying, "fellow South Africans, we need change and the DA will deliver the South Africa we all dreamed about.

"Where the DA governs, they deliver. This is a party with a track record of service delivery that puts others to shame. A party that looks and feels truly diverse. A party that makes every effort to unite people, while other parties are increasingly dividing us on race; and a party that has never stolen money from anyone,” said Maimane.

He reiterated that in the ten years that the DA has been in charge of the Western Cape it has turned it "into the best-run province in South Africa".

"When the DA took over in the Western Cape in 2009, not one single government department had received a clean audit. Last year, the Western Cape got 83%  [in] clean audits. The next best province was way back on 52%,” said a boastful Maimane to loud cheers from his supports who had filled the stadium to full capacity.

The DA’s manifesto focuses on undoing most of the legislations that the ANC has put in place and also seeks to place a lot of focus on the contentious topic of illegal immigrants and the country’s "porous boarder”.

Maimane reiterated that the DA sought to have "at least one working person in each household in the country” even in this tough economic climate.