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‘Vote them out if they are abusing resources’: Cyril Ramaphosa on local elections

President Cyril Ramaphosa arrives at the Charlotte Manye Maxeke Treatment Centre in Botshabelo, an anti-drug and substance abuse treatment facility, during 2021 Freedom Day celebrations.
President Cyril Ramaphosa arrives at the Charlotte Manye Maxeke Treatment Centre in Botshabelo, an anti-drug and substance abuse treatment facility, during 2021 Freedom Day celebrations.
Image: PresidencyZA/Twitter

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the electorate to use their votes to demonstrate their intolerance for corruption, theft and mismanagement of funds meant to benefit South Africans.

“These elections are an opportunity to make your voice heard and be part of the change you yourself want to see.

“I call on you to determine the future of your own family and your community by putting your confidence in a party that has the best policies, the will and the means to implement them,” said Ramaphosa.

South Africans will elect local government leaders on October 27.

The president called on citizens to use the elections to make their voices heard and discouraged  South Africans from resorting to violent demonstrations, burning and looting of property as that undermined the cause they seek to advance.

Exercising our right to vote is by far the most powerful form of protest
President Ramaphosa

“Exercising our right to vote is by far the most powerful form of protest. If those who claim to serve you are not doing so, vote them out, take them out, because that is the one weapon we all have.

“Demonstrate to them that you do not approve of the way they are running things, stealing money. Vote them out if they are abusing resources and take them out with your vote,” said the president.

Ramaphosa commemorated the country’s 27 years of freedom in Botshabelo, Free State, where he expressed deep disappointment with those who plunder state resources and neglect the people they are supposed to serve.

“Our vote is the most potent weapon, the most effective weapon through which we can improve our lives and transform our communities. I call on you to exercise your right in the upcoming local government elections,

“I call on you to decide who among the many candidates has the ability and  determination to work tirelessly on your behalf,” he said.

“Access to housing, education and health care is being undermined because those tasked with service delivery do not care enough.

“Our people expect that those tasked with the job of improving their lives should do just that and should not steal resources that belong to our people and put them in their own pockets.”

Ramaphosa said the continued practice of stealing, abusing and diverting resources is an affront against the people of SA who deserve better.

He said local government elections were a period to remind those who the people of SA have put into key positions that their preoccupation must be the people, not themselves.

While acknowledging that corrupt public servants were a contradiction to service delivery, Ramaphosa said the legacy of apartheid also played a role in determining the lives that South Africans live, adding that as a result, freedom remained elusive for millions.

“The legacy of apartheid remains a defining feature of our land.
President Cyril Ramaphosa

“The legacy of apartheid remains a defining feature of our land. Even after decades it remains in many ways, determining where people will live, what assets they own, what schooling they receive, what jobs they do and how safe they feel.

“As we celebrate this Freedom Day, we can point to the great progress we have made in confronting the legacy of apartheid, but we cannot celebrate Freedom Day without acknowledging how much further we still need to go. We cannot deceive ourselves and say ‘yes, we are free’ without acknowledging there is still a lot of work we need to do to improve the lives of our people.”

The president highlighted the provision of water and electricity and opening the doors of learning to children, particularly the poor.

While the provision of healthcare and measures to lift millions of people out of abject poverty are among the victories of the democratic government, he said the country still had many challenges that impact on all.

“No challenge is too great that it cannot be overcome.” 

TimesLIVE


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