President Jacob Zuma has urged South Africans not to vote for opposition parties because they do not have experience to govern the country.<\/p>\n
Addressing thousands of ANC supporters who almost filled the 43,000 seat Mbombela Stadium at the provincial launch of the ANC\u2019s local government election manifesto in Mbombela Stadium on Sunday, Zuma, who is also president of the governing party, deviated from his written speech to take a swipe at the opposition parties, saying they have nothing to offer the voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow could you vote for people who do not know whether they are coming or going? They\u2019ve got nothing except their voices. They are smaller, they\u2019ve never ruled any country. They\u2019ve got no experience. That\u2019s why they resort to insults at times,\u201d said Zuma.<\/p>\n
He also said that the opposition parties resort to courts of law to circumvent democracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day they go to court. They can\u2019t argue any issue. Only the judges must argue for their point. They even threaten, \u2018We will go to court.\u2019 Democracy is not court. [It] is correct ideas that must influence the citizens to support you. It\u2019s correct policies and programmes. It\u2019s respect, taking seriously your citizens including the opposition,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mabuza ignored<\/strong><\/p>\n Before Zuma started his speech, Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza, who is the provincial chairperson, appealed to the crowds to be silent during the presentation of the speech, but his appeals fell on deaf ears, as supporters made noise throughout Zuma\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n At one point, Mabuza left his seat from the stage and personally signalled to some of the supporters to quieten down, but returned to his seat when the media started taking pictures of him.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Zuma continued with his barrage of criticism on the opposition.<\/p>\n \u201cVoting for a person who does not know what he will do once voted… They just go and disrupt parliament with your vote. We will fix all of that. Voters should know that if they love themselves and their country, they should vote for a South Africa that moves forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Zuma accused the opposition parties, whose names he claimed he could not remember, of delaying the passing of laws in parliament.<\/p>\n \u201cDon’t be misled by people. There are others who do not understand how South Africa is like. There are others who were recently calling us monkeys. Do you think they’d take you seriously when you call yourself their leader? You’re a mere toy, a spanner that they use to turn and unlock opportunities for themselves,\u201d Zuma said.<\/p>\n Nominations\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n He downplayed the discontentment in the nomination of ANC councillors for the local government elections taking place on August 3 this year, calling it democracy at play.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople misunderstand our democratic culture. When some of our comrades complain about being taken out of the lists – that’s democracy at play. People have got freedom to raise their concerns,\u201d He said.<\/p>\n Zuma said that the ANC is the only organisation that has the capacity to improve the living conditions of the people of South Africa.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ANC is the only organisation that can truly unite all our people across race, colour class, culture and religion to build a united and cohesive society. The African National Congress, the liberator of our people. We liberate everyone, even the oppressors. The ANC is ready, able and determined to improve the performance of local government for our people. The ANC is ready, able and determined to serve our people better in the next five years. The ANC is ready, able and determined to respond and listen to make South Africa a better place for all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Halfway through his speech, many people had left their seats and only returned when he started singing his famous anthem, \u201cYinde lendlela esiy\u2019 hambayo\u201d, loosely translated, meaning “it is a long road to freedom”.<\/p>\n News24<\/a><\/p>\n ANC explains why Zuma\u2019s face is not on election posters<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n How Zuma has dodged every bullet<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Plans to remove Zuma in August: report<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on the ANC<\/h3>\n