Letter: We want control of country back

Abraham Lincoln declared in his famous Gettysburg address, “These honoured dead shall not have died in vain . . . – we here resolve that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish”.

These words now have a particularly hollow ring for many millions of South Africans who are being betrayed by a dysfunctional and thoroughly corrupt ANC government.

The words of Jim Garrison, district attorney of New Orleans who tried to expose the state-controlled CIA as the instigators in President John F Kennedy’s assassination should resonate across South Africa – “Why do the people want the truth?

Because we want our country back because it still belongs to us!” South Africans have no oversight or control over government. The reasons for this are historical.

The Codesa (Convention for a Democratic South Africa) agreement of 1991 gave parties the sole right to nominate MPs and the president final say in appointments of heads of all key state institutions.

Jacob Zuma used this to bullet-proof himself as follows: he has a veto over all names on the ANC’s “party list”, he weighted the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) in his favour by appointing more than 70 ministers (who all sit on the NEC), via surrogates at key state institutions and so Zuma is immunised against prosecution.

Zuma effectively appointed heads of all state-owned enterprises (SOEs), enabling the looting of resources on a massive scale to benefit the Gupta family and ANC beneficiaries.

The electorate gave the ANC a licence to govern responsibly – it took it as a licence to loot comprehensively and it is indeed a gangster government.

In its report, Betrayal of the promise: how South Africa is being stolen, the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition of Stellenbosch University, states, “The Zuma-centred power elite has built and consolidated a symbiotic relationship between the constitutional state and the elite’s shadow state in order to execute a silent coup.

“In the process, the ANC has been removed from its place as the primary force for transformation in society. “Replacing it is a nexus comprising a handful of the same individuals and companies connected in one way or another to the Gupta-Zuma family network – these are well-placed individuals in government, SOEs and the bureaucracy and it is they who make the decisions . . .

“This is a world where trust is maintained through mutually binding fear.” The elite now have the ultimate prize, control of the National Treasury, giving them carte blanche to loot at will.

Zuma’s actions have constructed a re-usable template for a “lock-up-and-go parliament”, with all key state institutions and SOEs thrown in as the victor’s spoils.

The scheming, parasitic Guptas, at first whispering in Zuma’s ear, are now firmly ensconced on the throne of power. The ANC rank and file are involved in a “free for all” looting of public funds at all levels of government.

And so, in the spirit of #WeWantOurCountryBack, and I believe I speak on behalf of all who love our country when I declare to all political parties: Any party that wants our vote in the 2019 general election must join up soonest, signing a declaration of intent (DOI), as follows: “We hereby undertake to the electorate that should we, together, comprise a parliamentary majority, we will immediately enable and give effect to the ‘Codesa 2019’ negotiating process, the objectives of which will be to make our electoral system more representative of the electorate, to ensure heads of key state institutions and SOEs will henceforth be appointed by select committees comprising appropriately qualified civilians of good standing.

“Codesa 2019 will set up civil bodies appointed by select committees, with oversight of conduct of policy and key events in procurement procedures and events, giving effect to a desirable devolution of power and remove the possibility of corrupt practices.”

We believe that the DOI will ensure that those parties committing to it will receive more than enough electoral support to give effect to Codesa 2019 and to form a new “national coalition government”, thereby removing the scourge that is the incumbent government from our sight forever.

We believe that nothing short of the DOI will gain the support of the electorate. Only a successful Codesa 2019 can change our current downwards trajectory.

To get a vote from any of us, your party has to sign on the dotted line for Codesa 2019 – we demand it of you.

You are obviously free to remain in your own party structures with your own election platforms – in fact, we prefer to be governed by a coalition of parties where corrupt practices are likely to be swiftly exposed.

We need to take back the holy ground that is our country by achieving reasonable control over our own affairs. We need to remove ourselves from the path of the looming express train that is our gangster government.

Ours is a damaged democracy – we need to repair the now obvious flaws before it is too late.

Codesa 2019 represents the only realistic way of doing this. And so, hurting badly, but much wiser, we need to make a fresh start – and the time is now!