"THE DA is not the right party to speak about abuse of public funds by the governing party."
This is according to GOOD party secretary-general Brett Herron.
The DA had said it would file a complaint with the Public Protector over President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC's alleged manipulation of public resources and abuse of state funds to supplement the party's Election 2024 campaign.
This was after a leaked recording from an ANC National Executive Committee meeting held in early April revealed that the party wants its ministers to have radio and TV adverts on the work of the ANC since 1994.
Opposition party leader John Steenhuisen said: “It's revealed that the party’s top brass, including President (Cyril) Ramaphosa himself, have instructed senior public office bearers to manipulate the public purse to pay for the ANC’s election campaign. This would be done via a series of public relations exercises and paid media advertisements promoting state projects and governance where the ANC has governed over the last 30 years.”
But Herron claimed the DA was doing the same in the Western Cape, where it governs.
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He tweeted on Monday, 22 April: “You speak with forked tongue @Our_DA. Your @WesternCapeGov is doing exactly the same thing.”
He said radio adverts, paid for using public funds, telling residents how well the Western Cape government has been doing, have been running for a while now.
The ANC said on Sunday night that it wouldn't comment on leaked information because "the party doesn't want to dignify unethical behaviour with a response".
“While the ANC won't be drawn into commenting on statements made by individual leaders during its meetings, the ANC is confident of the impact its elections campaign is making and the positive reception the movement is receiving across the length and breadth of the country,” said ANC spokeswoman Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri.
She said the ANC respects the separation of party and state and has a responsibility to monitor its representatives in government and intervene where appropriate to ensure that its undertakings and commitments to the citizens are not compromised.
