Lekota lashes the ANC
Lekota did not spare the rod against corruption when he fingered senior ANC leaders who have since either been involved or alleged to be part of corruption.
COPE president, Mr Terror Lekota did not spare the rod against corruption when he fingered senior ANC leaders who have since either been involved or alleged to be part of corruption including the president Mr Jacob Zuma, former minister of communications, Ms Dina Pule and the late minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Mr Sicelo Shiceka.
This was during the Heritage Day celebrations at Moloto village in KwaMhlanga last Tuesday in which Lekota was the keynote speaker.
“We are the rightful claimant of equality before the law. Let those who drive under the influence of liquor go to court and pay the price. Let those who are guilty of corruption regarding the arms deal go to court and pay the price,” said Lekota.
“What type of leadership is it when we steal before building the future of our children?” he asked.
“If leaders steal from your taxes, I always think about the children of the country who are without food. I think of Dina Pule and her boyfriend, and I don’t sleep when I think of the late Shiceka for trying to visit his drug mule girlfriend in a prison in foreign countries,” he added.
Lekota said South Africa needed leaders like former president Nelson Mandela who always took the welfare of the people at heart.
He also took a swipe at the ANC for allegedly using food parcels to campaign for votes in some areas that usually happens once in five years.
He said the ANC believed in buying the people a 12kg mealliemeal once in five years saying he himself was not getting hungry only once in five years.
Lekota said the money that parliamentarians were getting paid was enough to take care of their families.
“I challenge all those who are under President Zuma’s leadership to prove they are not paid enough so much that they must steal from the poor,” he said.
He asked members to go and build COPE as “we can’t be led by a group of thieves”.
“The ANC was stolen from us in Polokwane in 2007. Have you ever heard that Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu or Oliver Tambo stole from the people? I was taught by the ANC not to steal from the people, but they are stealing now,” he said.
He concluded by saying the long dark night that stood on the way of COPE was over.
Before arriving at the Matimba Primary school to attend the Heritage Day celebrations, Lekota and his entourage that included the national leadership as well as that of provinces of Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng passed through the local ZCC church to say “Hello” to the congregation at large.
Hundreds of people that included COPE members and people who joined the party after listening to its president who spoke about everything from heritage, respect, God, the struggle and skills development were in attendance,
