Leaders can’t escape judgment day – Moseneke
The strongest form of accountability is electoral accountability, former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke says.
“People must stay vigilant and aware. The biggest form of accountability is electoral accountability,” he said in an interview yesterday.
Moseneke’s comments come shortly after the ANC suffered its worst performance at the polls yet, losing major metropoles in the recent local government elections.
Speaking after the launch of the International Federation for Human Rights’ 39th conference in Johannesburg, he added he was positive about the country.
“We are on a great trajectory … Whoever gets into power, you can almost be certain that people will judge them. It takes a long time but, ultimately, they do it.
“Apartheid – the same thing, people waited a long time but when they really rose against it, it was for real. So we aren’t stupid.”
But Moseneke said socioeconomic conditions in the country still needed to be addressed.
“We need to put on our thinking caps now because we have achieved a lot politically. But half of us are poor. So we have to go back to the drawing board.
He said plans need to be put in place now to ensure people move out of poverty in a meaningful way. “We must look at what the state actually does and how public and private power is deployed.”