Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Roy Jankielsohn MPL and Sesotho soundbite by Jafta Mokoena MPL
The poor attendance during Ramaphosa’s Freedom Day address in the Free State is a clear sign of a failing ANC-run province and growing public distrust in the ANC as a political party.
Under the ANC, the Free State continues to suffer from failed service delivery at both municipal and provincial levels of government. Communities are left without water in their taps, forced to live among sewage spills, and endure crumbling road infrastructure, all while being led by increasingly arrogant politicians. These realities are at the heart of the declining confidence in the ANC.
The Free State has become synonymous with corruption and is, in many ways, the birthplace of state capture. While the DA agrees with Ramaphosa that every stolen rand is an attack on our democracy, it is deeply disappointing that he arrives in the province with rhetoric instead of announcing real criminal accountability for ANC members and others who have, and continue to, undermine our democracy through corruption. Free Staters need to see more arrests and less talk from the President. Even the Premier faces serious corruption allegations, yet Ramaphosa continues to keep her in office.
In the upcoming local government elections, Ramaphosa and the ANC will not only face empty stadiums, but also empty blocks next to the party’s name on ballot papers. Free Staters are tired of empty promises, stolen dreams, and a stolen democracy.