Ido Lekota

Ido Lekota

Cope presidential candidate Mvume Dandala believes that he has something to offer the South African electorate that no party has achieved before - raising morality in the country.

During an interview with Sowetan, Dandala said his strong views on issues of morality and the "common good" were some of the factors that led to Cope nominating him as its presidential candidate.

"When I talk about morality I am not talking about a private issue probably between me and my wife. There is something called collective morality," says Dandala .

"We need to be in a position where we say when I am charged with the responsibility of serving people, it is not only an administrative issue, it is about having empathy for the people I serve."

"If you actually say that money was rolled back into the fiscus because the people who were supposed to dispense it were not skilled enough but were employed on the principle of cronyism, that is an issue of morality."

The Cope leader is also critical of politicians - even within his party - who continue to question ANC president Jacob Zuma's moral rectitude because of his previous rape case.

"There were things that Mr Zuma apologised for after his acquittal on the rape charge.

"It could be that it was not expected that these could be said or done by a man of his stature. But we should forgive the man and move on," Dandala said.