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SPOILT FOR CHOICE: Unemployed people from different parts of Limpopo survive by collection rotten food and hazardous scrap metals at the Polokwane dumping site. They say they are still waiting for the 'better life for all'.

 It is improbable that the ANC will achieve all it has envisioned as long as there are greedy individuals in the party 

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In 1994 the dawn of democracy came with promises of a better life for all. There were promises of eradication of poverty, joblessness, homelessness, free education and so on.

There was jubilation and sanguinity when those words were uttered by then president Nelson Mandela.

Thabo Mbeki came with the same utterances, giving us a renewed hope. Today under your leadership we continue to hear those same promises.

Allow me to state that it is improbable that the ANC will achieve all it has envisioned as long as there are greedy individuals in the party.

How long will the ANC keep making promises only to renege on them? The recent policy conference of the ANC gave little to the South African people whose minds have been colonised by the political party that they put in power 18 years ago.

We have seen other radical policies put on the table. What's new? It's not the first time and won't be the last time that the ANC will have proposed such policies and failed to implement them.

In your closing remarks at the fourth ANC policy conference you mentioned that it is now time for the movement to implement what has been decided on.

Yes, implementation has been lacking for years. The people of South Africa and the youth in particular have put their faith in the beloved ANC and we all hope that last week's policy conference was just not another talk shop.

I cannot think of any other political party able to address pertinent issues South Africans are faced with. The ANC cannot redress the injustices of the past but should try to find a radical solution to the plight of many South Africans.

I am thankful for the freedom the ANC has fought for though I have yet to see the fruits of that freedom.

The way issues affecting us are tackled needs a review because it is not working. Those issues are joblessness, homelessness and eradication of poverty, among others. I would have hoped these issues that I mentioned would have been top of the agenda at the policy conference.

Another matter is the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment policy. We want to see more stringent rules being put in place in relation to the idea. It is not broad based. The so-called elites have benefited and continue to do so at the expense of the poor people of South Africa.

In 2004, as I recall, Nissan South Africa came up with a strategy for empowering black people in the form of owning their own dealerships. We approached them at their Midrand headquarters and the company's president welcomed us with open arms and was willing to help us in the best way possible.

Due to lack of funding the deal was cancelled.

We approached the now-defunct Umsobomvu Business partners and Kula Enterprises, to no avail. So who is BEE for since the institutions whose primary objective is to empower the youth through funding and up-skilling could not help us?

We realised that it is for the elites who are politically affiliated to the ANC.

You are aware of the fact that the gap between the rich and the poor continues to stretch. I am glad you made reference to BBBEE but never actually explained how it will benefit everyone willing to take part in growing the economy and reducing unemployment.

You emphasised radical policies or changes to the existing ones. I urge you, together with your Cabinet, to be decisive in all the issues that were raised. We need a radical ANC that will move the country forward and ensure economic growth.

You also made reference to the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality and we want to know how these issues will be tackled.

These are serious problems needing radical solutions and we expect decisiveness from the ANC.

We also need clarity on what sort of resolutions have been taken about labour brokers. I have been a temporary worker for the past four and half years and permanency seems insurmountable, given the current economic crisis.

You'll agree with me when I say there is a grave housing backlog. Would it not be judicious not to go ahead with the purchase of the jet, taking into consideration the current state of our economy?

I am sure you are aware that many people have been on the housing waiting list since 1996 and my parents are among them.

I urge the leadership of the ANC to take the people of South Africa seriously, accelerate service delivery and root out corruption.

Some people sell their house and have more than one RDP house. This issue was not sufficiently addressed at ANC policy conference.

The state of education in Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and Limpopo is appalling.

It is less than five months before pupils sit for their final examinations and only now have textbooks been delivered in Mpumalanga and Limpopo - if indeed they have been distributed.

I hold the ANC in high regard. But I have lost hope in it because its leaders do not have the people' s interests at heart and seek to advance only their own interests.

The onus is on you President Zuma to see to it that everything is in order and that the government does not disregard our plight as South Africans.

I write as a concerned citizen.

Comments

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Tue May 21 10:59:11 SAST 2013 ::

Jul 6, 2012

KeRataBasadi

They are forever sloganeering, more of the same sh1t day in day out, its obvious we are led by nincompoops, the enemy will gain momentum and your fucken children will become slaves too, bloody bastards. Happy Fringaz !
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Jul 6, 2012

Maestro

Well said McDonald, I concur with you on all points you have articulated but my worry is that no one in the ANC is able to hear nor understand the hardship the majority of blacks are facing. Wonder why is JZ not taking action against the minister of education for failing children in Limpopo and EC,
This is the same ANC you voted for and I can assure you they will never change.

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Jul 6, 2012

mthosam

sing a song you will never be free. put your vote to the trusted. I like your lamintations.
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Jul 7, 2012

DimaaneZB

The arrogance of Mantashe should be exported somewhere it might be required. He speaks like a billionaire. So Optimum Coal has paid you after selling the mines to Cyril and white cohorts.
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