Archbishop on election: SA is tired of ANC “arrogance and dismissiveness”

From the Anglican Church in SA:

Responding to the results of last week’s local government elections in South Africa, the elder states person Ndungane said that the overall drop in support for the ANC compared to the previous elections in 2011 should provide a clear message to the ANC that ordinary people were tired of the party’s arrogance and dismissiveness.

“There is a wonderful saying that you can fool some of the people some of the time; you can even fool all of the people some of the time; but you can’t fool all the people all the time. The years of corruption and mismanagement of the Jacob Zuma government have taken their toll on the once proud organisation that was the ANC.

African National Congress (ANC) president,Jacob Zuma (2nd R) waves to his supporters as he arrives for the parties traditional Siyanqoba rally ahead of the August 3 local municipal elections in Johannesburg, South Africa July 31, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
African National Congress (ANC) president,Jacob Zuma (2nd R) waves to his supporters as he arrives for the parties traditional Siyanqoba rally ahead of the August 3 local municipal elections in Johannesburg, South Africa July 31, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

“South Africans, particularly those living in urban areas, have used the ballot box to express their dissatisfaction with the current status. Those in power have ignored ordinary people’s protests at their peril,” he said.

Archbishop Ndungane added that now, more than ever, there was a need for a strong civil society in this country.

“We need civil society and faith-based organisations to step up their vigilance and monitoring of the performance of both existing and new government structures. There will be coalitions formed in some of the most important economic areas of the country. We need to ensure that politicking and jockeying for power does not get in the way of service delivery, and a vibrant and active civil society offers the best way of ensuring this,” he added.

During his period as leader of the Anglican Church in South Africa from 1996 to 2007, Archbishop Ndungane chaired two nationwide poverty hearings, and made detailed recommendations to government about poverty alleviation in South Africa as a result.

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