DA piles on pledges as Malema claims Zuma faces arrest ‘soon’
ANC unwilling to risk Northern Cape by dumping dodgy strongman
DEMOCRATIC Alliance Gauteng premier candidate Mmusi Maimane launched his party’s manifesto at a glitzy rally attended by thousands of supporters yesterday.
Maimane told the rally at the Ellis Park indoor arena in Johannesburg he “sincerely” had no doubt his party would win Gauteng and promised that:
Under a DA government, no one convicted of fraud or corruption would hold public office or work in government;
Title deeds would be given to every Gauteng resident to own the land where they lived;
Small businesses would be able to rent offices from a DA government from R1 a year;
All pensioners and unemployed people would be able to use trains and buses for free;
A referendum would be held on e-tolls;
Teachers and principals would have to write tests to prove their competence;
No tenders would be award- ed behind close doors; and
A handbook would be introduced banning posh cars, banquets and parties for MECs.
Maimane did not give any indication how these plans would be funded or administered, but they were popular with the crowd.
Like a boxer in the ring, Maimane was introduced with booming music, dancing spotlights and drawn-out vowels as the heavyweight contender in blue up against the ANC.
Sibongakonke Shoba reports from Mahikeng that Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema has predicted that President Jacob Zuma will be arrested soon.
Malema told scores of his supporters yesterday that the police investigating the case he opened against Zuma last week were making progress.
“The police called me yesterday . . . He is going to be arrested very soon. I have a meeting with the police on Monday to give them evidence . . . He must go to jail,” he told the crowd.
Malema laid charges of corruption, fraud and racketeering against Zuma at the Sunnyside police station last week after public protector Thuli Madonsela released her report on security upgrades at Zuma’s Nkandla house.
Malema, who has seized on the Nkandla report as a stick with which to beat the ANC and Zuma, told a packed Montshioa Stadium that he was not afraid of the president and not intim- idated by the criminal charges pending against himself.
“Zuma should know wherever he is . . . I respect him as an elder but I don’t fear him. Zuma must know that you must earn respect. Your conduct must make you earn respect. You can’t sleep with your daughter and expect to be respected,” said Malema to loud cheers from the crowd.
The rally was the biggest held by the EFF since it launched its election manifesto in Tembisa on February 22.
Malema told the rally that the ANC election slogan “we have a good story to tell” was a lie.
“The RDP houses they built are worse than the apartheid houses. Their houses are collapsing,” the former ANC Youth League leader said.
“There is no good story to tell. There is a story of pain and suffering to tell.”
Malema cancelled two events on Thursday that failed to attract big crowds.
FORMER Northern Cape premier Hazel Jenkins once left a meeting with Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane because the “chairman wants to see me”. That was the end of her scheduled meeting with Chabane.
Such is the pulling power of John Block, the ANC chairman in the province.
Ordinarily, Block would be regarded as a liability for any political party about to contest an election because he faces corruption and fraud charges, but dropping him is a risk the ANC is not willing to contemplate.
This was all too evident as President Jacob Zuma campaigned in the provincial capital, Kimberley, on Wednesday.
For Zuma and the ANC, Block is necessary for their campaign in the predominantly coloured province.
It is the only province in which the ruling party enjoys more support from the coloured community than the Democratic Alliance or any other political party.
Block, the ANC’s strongman who has been chairman since 2004, is instrumental in ensuring the ruling party retains its majority in the sparsely populated province.
Zuma’s reception in Roodepan, outside Kimberley, was proof of this. The ANC’s yellow T-shirts filled the community hall where Zuma addressed the poor community in the crime- and drugridden township.
Block was at Zuma’s side and introduced him. They received the same applause at the different gatherings scheduled for the day.
Speaking in Afrikaans, Block got the crowd excited when he told them Roodepan was the only township in Kim- berley singled out by Zuma for his Northern Cape visit.
For Zuma, who speaks no Afrikaans, Block was again on hand to ensure that his president’s message sank in.
“Although we speak Afrikaans, we do understand English in Roodepan, right?” said Block, drawing cheers from the crowd.
At the previous venue, where Zuma met students, Block sang Zuma’s praises.
“You are the only candidate we have for this elections. We are already talking about the future because we are not walking alone — we are with a priest.
“When you are with a priest, you can feel God’s presence,” said Block, in reference to the president, who was “ordained” as a priest by a group of church leaders a few years ago.
The last time Zuma was in a coloured area — Jacksonville in Port Elizabeth — he was booed by a small proDemocratic Alliance crowd that made it clear he was unwelcome.
Throughout the election campaign, Zuma’s message changed depending on the community he was addressing. In Roodepan, he spoke about crime and drug abuse, the biggest scourge in the area: “You must fight against drug abuse and you must help those who need help.”
In 2009, the ANC snatched 60.75% of the vote in the Northern Cape, the Congress of the People took 16.67% and the DA secured only 12.57%.