Johannesburg - Political analyst and author Prince Mashele has reiterated his call for President Cyril Ramaphosa and the entire ANC to be removed come the 2024 elections.
Mashele, who in the past has spoken out against the lacklustre performance of the ANC under Ramaphosa, said the current incumbent has not done anything solid to solve the country's litany of problems in the past five years since he took over from Jacob Zuma. Mashele was speaking during a recent podcast interview with Sizwe Mpofu Walsh.
"I have no doubt the ANC, in 2024, is not going to get a majority or 50%. Forget it. South Africans are angry. In South Africa, there are no standards. You can wake up; you are a thug. You are a convicted criminal; and you are Kenny Kunene. Because you have run out of money, you set up a party. South Africans are so gullible that such thugs and convicted criminals get voted into power," he said.
He added that the recent announcement by Ramaphosa to establish a ministry of electricity was yet another attempt to fool South Africans.
"He wants us to believe that this new minister of electricity will solve our electricity problems. The assumption is that we are where we are because there is no minister of electricity in Cabinet. That is total nonsense. There were two ministers in Cabinet responsible for Eskom. The minister of energy is also the minister of public enterprises. If two ministers could not solve the problem of Eskom, what makes you think one minister can solve our electricity problem?" he said.
He said all the former leaders of the ANC, including Nelson Mandela, have contributed to the current messy situation in the country, adding that the problems of Eskom pre-date the current situation.
"There was a time in the past where SA was in the dark in that there was not a single public entity that was providing electricity to the rest of the country. The only parts of SA that had electricity were those where there were economic activities, such as mining here in Johannesburg. It was the private sector that was providing electricity, called the Victoria Falls Company, owned by Cecil John Rhodes. The system of private sector-based electricity provision did not work for the entire country," he said.
Instead of Operation Dudula directing their anger at foreign nationals, Mashele called for the group to direct their protests to the Union Buildings, where all the leaders in the country are, instead of targeting foreigners, as the leaders are responsible for porous borders.
"Operation Dudula is supposed to go to the Union Buildings and say to the government, why are you failing to manage the entry and exit of foreigners in South Africa?"
He added that Ramaphosa promised a new dawn that has not come to fruition.
"This is the man who promised us a new dawn when he was elected president of the ANC in 2017 and when he became our state president in 2018. Have you ever seen that new dawn? They threatened me. I was shown an intelligence file a few years ago, a very thick intelligence file, where pies were sent to my village," he said.
The Star