The voters must be able to remove leaders, says Phosa

FORMER ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa has called for the electoral system to be reformed to allow voters to directly hold members of Parliament accountable.

Speaking at the Stellenbosch University Business School’s Leadership Summit in Tygerberg on Thursday, Phosa said the recent motion of no-confidence secret ballot, which President Jacob Zuma survived, was an example of the “will of the people” not being enforced.

“We need to reform the electoral laws to establish individual accountability of politicians to ourselves as voters, as the only way to ensure the independence of Parliament,” he said.

“The masses must be able to remove you; it must not be a decision of the Guptas.”

In reference to the National Prosecuting Authority’s inaction on high-profile prosecutions, Phosa said the country had never “stooped so low as a nation”, and that there was a disconnect between the voters and the country’s leaders.

“Our country’s electorate is poorer; we have few jobs and our economy is under severe pressure,” he said.

“Leaders of all political parties act as if the only thing we have to worry about is who scores the most points in political debate, particularly in the National Assembly.

“In that process we shamefully forget those who are hungry, cold and jobless.”

Accompanied on Thursday by his provincial ANC presidential campaign boss, the controversial Andile Lili, Phosa said the justice system has a “culture of immunity”.

Phosa added: “If you ask (Lili) to speak in a room with Zuma, you must remove Zuma because he is not going to like what Lili has to say, because (Zuma) is not a role model.”

He said the ANC must not take action against those MPs who voted against Zuma in the motion of no-confidence secret ballot: “They are not traitors.”

Phosa said: “White monopoly capital” was a construct, and that out of the country’s 726 state-owned entities, 313 were important and only 37 “crucial to the SA economy”.

He said black South Africans need to be empowered through education and vocational skills, as well as small- and medium-sized enterprise.

South Africa’s constitution remained strong, Phosa added.

This week marked five years since the Marikana tragedy, where 43 miners and protesters were shot and killed by police.

Phosa said he had been the first prominent ANC member to condemn the police’s actions.

He had been chastised by fellow party members for his views, he added.

Phosa said “mineworkers in this country need to be shown the respect they deserve”.

Houses must be built for miners across the country, he added. “The history of mining in this country is painful.”

Asked about the other nine candidates vying for the ANC presidency, Phosa said: “The chances of running are equal.”

He would only consider alliances with those he deemed as “carrying ANC principles and value”, he added.