ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has lampooned President Cyril Ramaphosa and his ministers over gender-based violence (GBV), saying the president and his “celebrity” ministers would not turn the tide of crime.
His remarks on Monday come a week after Ramaphosa hosted the second Presidential Summit on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide in Midrand.
“I believe that the problem, as with most problems we face in South Africa, is one that begins with political leadership. We have a president who convenes misguided GBV summits to bemoan the state of affairs and spout platitudes about ‘doing more’ while facing probes over his own potentially unlawful actions related to the Phala Phala saga,” said Mashaba.
“A president of a criminal syndicate masquerading as a political party, who remained silent while serving alongside the architect of state capture, former president [Jacob] Zuma.”
Mashaba also lambasted cabinet ministers including Police Minister Bheki Cele, whom he referred to as a “celebrity minister”, accusing Cele of spending too much time courting the media at high-profile crime scenes and failing to reform the SA Police Service.
“Given the perpetual rise of crime and violence in South Africa under successive ANC governments, the solution is undoubtedly the unseating of the ANC and their replacement with a caring government that is committed to restoring the rule of law.
“We cannot expect ordinary South Africans to refrain from criminal behaviour when being a criminal seems to be a minimum requirement to becoming a leader in the ANC.”
He said the summits will never solve GBV and other crimes.
“One must question the logic of committing significant resources to what amounts to a public relations exercise, when those funds would arguably have more impact if directed to the frontline NGOs [non-government organisation] that work to assist GBV survivors.
“While there are many drivers of GBV in South Africa, part of the problem is that we have become desensitized to the brutality of violence in our country, because it has become so prevalent.
“We are no longer shocked by headlines that would be considered abhorrent anywhere else in the world, while our political leadership apparently wants us to take a ‘glass half full’ approach to crime,” he added.
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