South Africa: Elections must “save” country from ANC rule

The elections planned in South Africa at the end of May must “save” the country and put an end to thirty years of unchallenged rule by the ANC, a “corrupt, indifferent and unpatriotic” party, accused Herman Mashaba, 64, leader on Monday

South Africa: Elections must “save” country from ANC rule

The elections planned in South Africa at the end of May must “save” the country and put an end to thirty years of unchallenged rule by the ANC, a “corrupt, indifferent and unpatriotic” party, accused Herman Mashaba, 64, leader on Monday. of a small opposition party.

After decades of apartheid, Nelson Mandela's former party imposed its "brutality" particularly on the black population, by requiring them to "remain poor and uneducated", but also by allowing the dilapidation of infrastructure and allowing a monster crime, accused the former mayor of Johannesburg in an interview with AFP.

It is difficult for him to find anything positive in the record of the African National Congress (ANC), apart from Mandela's "miraculous" first mandate (1994-1999). Then, "everything went to waste", each of his successors only dragged the country down, until the current president, Cyril Ramaphosa, elected on the promise of eradicating corruption, which he describes as "the worst " of them.

Public lighting, public transport, the state of the roads, education and access to water or electricity have been neglected by those in power, denounces Mr. Mashaba, head of the Action SA party. , whose election posters at intersections claim that “only action will turn around” South Africa.

" Illegal immigration "

This convinced liberal denounces the "communism" of the ruling party, which has implemented a "draconian" labor law that does not allow businesses to flourish as well as a policy favoring black businesses which has "only created oligarchs and enriched some ANC executives.”

Regularly accused of xenophobia, particularly against immigrants from neighboring countries attracted by the continent's leading industrial power, Mashaba, round face and smooth skull, affirms that he will not ask "forgive anyone for denouncing illegal immigration" so that other parties pass this question “in silence”. “They’re coming here illegally? I can tell you that they are not welcome,” he says, accusing this population of fueling one of the most alarming crimes in the world.

Johannesburg, the country's economic capital, "has become a slum in thirty years", he adds, accusing the ANC of having allowed squats to set up, "robbing the poor of their dignity".

His party allied with the first opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), with other small parties to oust the ANC, which could lose its absolute majority, according to various polls. The approximately 27.5 million registered South Africans are due to vote on May 29 to renew their Parliament, which will then choose the next president.