COPE leader Mosiuoa Lekota believes expropriation of land without compensation and the quota system in sport are “artificial things” that would not reverse the injustices of the past, saying they were a waste of time and resources.
Lekota, a vocal critic of ANC policies in recent years who has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of selling out during the fight against apartheid, launched his party’s manifesto at the Orient Theatre in East London on Saturday.
Ramaphosa has denied the sell-out allegations.
In an interview following the launch, Lekota said COPE sought to return SA to its full constitutional rule.
“These ones [ANC] are saying they are going to take the land and give it to the blacks.
“The constitution says if you want land so you can plough, you go to the government and they must give you land.
“How do I restore dignity to you by giving you land?
“If I give you a piece of land, I must know what you are going to do with it.”
Lekota said giving land back to black people and the quota system were merely “artificial things”.
Speaking against the quota system, Lekota said: “You must ask yourself the question ‘do you want the gold medal or what?’ because if you want the best, what does it matter if [the player] is black or white?
“The American system also used to have something like that but they learnt over time that you will not force a black child to go and do something if they don’t want to do it.
“If they don’t have the talent, it is useless.”
Government, politicians and sports administrators have for years been saying the quota system was not about picking undeserving players, but about levelling the playing field and ensuring that talented players, who might not have been picked because of their skin colour, are given a chance to play at the highest level.
Lekota told a packed Orient Theatre that SA needed a fresh start, free of corrupt and selfserving leaders.
In its manifesto for the May 8 general and provincial elections, COPE promises to:
● Contain state debt and achieve fiscal sustainability by ensuring that remuneration of public representatives and senior managers in public service is linked to the annual upward or downward movement of the gross domestic product of the country;
● Create a world-class curriculum that is relevant to the fourth industrial revolution;
● Discard the minimum pass rate of 30%;
● Ensure clinics are opened 24 hours a day;
● Accredit traditional health practitioners and monitor them so they can play an important role in improving health care in rural areas and strengthening indigenous knowledge systems; and ● Allow land expropriation to the extent that is necessary to achieve land reform, provided that all such expropriation will fully pass constitutional muster.
Lekota blasted the ANC-led government for what he said was tarnishing the democracy former President Nelson Mandela had fought for.
He said East London was chosen as the place for the launch because of the party’s strong following in the province.