Activists and Citizens Forum (ACF), a recently launched civic organisation led by former COPE spokesperson Dennis Bloem, has slammed recent calls by former statistician- general, Dr Phali Lehohla, for next year’s elections to be postponed.
This week, while speaking to Daily Maverick, the former statistician-general called for the elections to be postponed indefinitely due to a range of reversal of the country’s democratic gains.
He said the country should, instead, focus on holding wide-ranging talks involving all stakeholders, including communities, civic groups, politicians, businesses and religious organisations, to determine the kind of a country they want to build.
Lehohla in an interview with the SABC said the country mirrors the state of decay that has become former president Nelson Mandela’s home in Houghton, where the grass has become overgrown and its pool has dirty water.
“We are really possessed by demons. What we need to do is merely to pause and think through, what it is that we are trying to do. The political parties are not about programmes of correcting that pigsty,” he said.
However, yesterday (Thursday), Bloem indicated that his organisation was opposed to the idea of a referendum and wanted the elections to go ahead as scheduled.
“The proposal from former statistician-general Dr Pali Lehohla that the upcoming 2024 general elections must be postponed to a later date is not a solution and must be rejected.
“Activists and Citizens Forum think that this proposal came too late. In fact, we are calling for the elections to be brought forward. The country is in serious crises politically and economically, and we think the country must be placed under a State of Disaster,” Bloem said.
According to Bloem, the elections are necessary for the country to elect capable leaders to rebuild South Africa which is currently faced with a myriad of service delivery challenges and other issues.
Bloem said as things stood, most of the government departments were not functioning, adding that most of these were run by consultants.
“The police are totally ineffective. Citizens must rely on private security companies for their safety. Citizens must rely on private health services for their health care. Water supply is a luxury. Citizens must buy drinking water. Millions are struggling to get water.
“Citizens must dig deep into the pockets to install solar panels or buy generators to keep the electricity on. Almost all departments are run by consultants. It is a mess,“ he added.
Bloem said instead of calling off the election, the ANC government had to prioritise services and the interests of the people.
“We are calling upon the ANC government to put the interests of the people of South Africa first by showing them they care. They must be honest and tell the people that they have failed and we must go to an early election to elect a new government,” he added.
The Star
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