DA leader Mmusi Maimane lambasted the ANC on Saturday for making corruption “the new normal” and failing to punish its perpetrators.

Maimane said corruption was so bad that “tsotsis” such as Deputy President David Mabuza and ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule were promoted instead of being punished.

He was addressing DA supporters during the party's 2019 election campaign launch at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown‚ Johannesburg.

“Corruption has become the new normal in government. I do not know anywhere I can say things are working‚” said Maimane.

“It is an oppressive evil [that] no one has ever been punished for corruption‚ even when facts come out such as state capture.

“Instead‚ tsotsis [criminals] keep their jobs‚ they get promoted‚ they become secretary-general of the ANC‚ they become deputy president such as David Mabuza. We know these people are tsotsis but they get promoted.”

According to Maimane‚ it was shocking that the ANC was not doing anything while crime was skyrocketing.

He accused the governing party of “reversing all progress” that had been made in service delivery and lamented the collapse of municipalities that “can no longer keep the lights on and the streets clean”.

As a result‚ said Maimane‚ ordinary people were suffering and “our country is on a knife’s edge all the time”.

He added: “We did not lose our way on the target that we set ourselves in 1994 by mistake‚ we lost our way the moment this government realised that they can be rich for their personal benefit instead of empowering the people.

“They took an off-ramp because it became easy to steal money from our people.”