Johnathan Paoli
Democratic Alliance (DA) Federal Leader John Steenhuisen has announced his party’s complaint to the Public Protector over the alleged manipulation of public resources and the abuse of state funds by President Cyril Ramaphosa and the African National Congress (ANC) to supplement the ruling party’s electoral campaign for the upcoming elections.
Steenhuisen released a statement on Sunday and said that the DA was able to provide new and damning evidence confirming that the ANC intended to use taxpayer money to help win votes.
This follows the leaking of a recording from an ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held earlier in the month in it which Ramaphosa allegedly instructed senior public office bearers to source the party’s election campaign from public funds, by means of a series of public relations exercises and paid media advertisements promoting state projects and governance.
“This blatant abuse of taxpayer funds is proof of the way in which the ANC continues to manipulate and contort South African voters into believing that the governing party has the people’s interests at heart, all the while abusing each and every citizen through rampant corruption culminating in service delivery collapse,” Steenhuisen said.
Steenhuisen pointed to the disingenuous and shallow attention given to both maintaining no load shedding and engaging service delivery issues ahead of the upcoming elections as a political strategy to attract electoral support.
“This new revelation is proof that the ANC is the ultimate emotional manipulator, gaslighting the South African electorate with false promises and smoke and mirrors at the taxpayers’ expense all to remain in power,” the DA leader said.
He said that the country was tired of the ruling party’s “lies and manipulation” and highlighted the important need to call out the ANC for electoral gaslighting.
The recording alleges that the party’s head of elections Mdumiseni Ntuli can be heard giving a report back to the leaders, including the president and said the ANC must improve its support base in the Western Cape, Free State, Northern Cape and the North West.
Ramaphosa raised a target of between 13 to 14 million votes that he said were required in order for the party to attain a 50 plus 1 share of the electoral support within the country.
Following the elections in 2019, the ANC failed to reach 80% across any of the provinces with Limpopo being its highest-performing province, garnering 75% of the voter share.
In the Eastern Cape, it received 68.7% of the vote, while it managed to get 70% in Mpumalanga.
INSIDE POLITICS
