The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes the statement of the ANC Women’s League today in response to our call for President Cyril Ramaphosa to appear before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
We are not surprised by the ANCWL’s attack on the DA as they have a well-documented history as defenders of corruption, patriarchy and violence against women by the male leaders of their declining organisation.
In its awkward and misplaced attempt to defend the President, the Women’s League fails to make any reference to the allegations arising from the Zondo Commission tying the President to Bosasa. They address neither the implications of those allegations for the President and his son, nor for the ANC as a whole if corroborated and proven. The statement is a blatant and poor attempt to drown out the substance and the importance of the testimony at the Zondo Commission in the noise of the toothless League.
As the New Dawn unravels at an accelerating pace in the face of Bosasagate, the Zuma-era party lists and job-killing load-shedding, we unfortunately, cannot expect a sensible reaction from the ANC Women’s League demonstrating any form of leadership or allegiance to the women, the poor and the vulnerable in our society.
It is evident from the statement of the Women’s League that not a single organ of the ANC remains with a grip on reality and an understanding of the true state of affairs in South Africa. It is ridiculous that anyone would, of their own accord, trumpet the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) as a success while South Africa has the world’s worst youth unemployment rate. With 3.3 million young people not engaged in any form of training or employment, NYDA has proven a most inefficient use of resources and a flagship failure for the ANC in their mandate to uplift the youth of South Africa.
The Women’s League has today demonstrated that they have been reduced to nothing but a vehicle for the defence of the mother body rather than an advocate for women’s rights.
The DA stands by its call for the President to demonstrate a commitment to accountability and transparency by appearing before the Zondo Commission, with his son Andile in tow, and to put before the South African people the whole truth about the President’s and his family’s links to Bosasa. South Africans must see the entire ANC for what it is and vote for a party that will put them and South Africa first.