afrol News - 'South Africa faces threat'

»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»

afrol News, 29 April - The Democratic Alliance leader has told hundreds of people at the KwaZulu-Natal Freedom Day celebrations in Molweni, outside Durban that South Africa faced a new threat 14 years after the first democratic election.

"The threat is a ruling party that believes it is more important than the constitution. It is a party that believes it will rule until Jesus comes," Helen Zille said at the weekend, accusing the party of wanting to control the media, politicians, parliament and crime-fighting bodies such as the Scorpions.

Ms Zille also pinned the ANC for not allowing judicial independence, which according to her, has been evidenced by its [ANC] efforts to make judges accountable to politicians.

"Instead of fighting crime and corruption, the ANC wants to take away the Scorpions," she alleged.

She questioned the freedom of South Africa. "I am afraid that the answer to this question must be no...but many people may disagree... Elections are not enough to make you free. We only have to look at Zimbabwe to see that."

Zille, also the Mayor of Cape Town, added, "when 53 people are murdered every day, we cannot say that the right to life is upheld. When 144 women and children are raped every single day, we cannot say that the right to be free from violence is protected, and when 15 million people are without access to basic sanitation, we cannot say that the right to dignity is enjoyed by all.

"When 10 million people live in informal settlements, we cannot say that the right of access to adequate housing has been fulfilled and when half-a-million HIV-positive people require access to anti-retroviral drugs, but do not receive them, we cannot say that there is access to basic health care."

By staff writer