THE Democratic Alliance (DA) plans to lodge a complaint with the Public Protector against the African National Congress (ANC) for alleged manipulation of public funds for campaign purposes.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said part of the complaint to the Public Protector is about the manipulation of public resources by President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC and the abuse of state funds to support the ANC’s campaign for the 2024 election.
Steenhuisen said they will present new and incriminating evidence confirming that the ruling party intended to use taxpayers' money to win votes.
This comes after a recording of an ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting from early April 2024 was leaked to the public.
According to the DA, the recording showed that the party leadership, including President Ramaphosa himself, instructed senior officials to manipulate the public purse to fund the ANC’s election campaign.
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Steenhuisen claimed this was done through a series of PR campaigns and paid media adverts promoting state projects and governance where the ANC has ruled for the past 30 years.
“Included in this strategy is a directive to be targeted service delivery failures days ahead of ANC campaign visits to create the illusion that the state is functioning under the ANC. This desperate exploitation of the collapse of the state by the ANC itself to win over voters ahead of crucial national elections is the ultimate form of ANC manipulation to date,” he said.
He said this blatant abuse of taxpayers' money is proof of how the ANC continues to manipulate and twist the South African electorate into believing that the ruling party has the people’s interests at heart, while at the same time abusing every single citizen through rampant corruption culminating in a collapse of services.
He added that this new revelation is proof that the ANC is the ultimate emotional manipulator, misleading the South African electorate with false promises and smoke and mirrors at the expense of taxpayers in order to stay in power.
This is a developing story.
