Mavuso Msimang, a veteran African National Congress leader, said May's polls showed South Africans had abandoned the ANC after voters persistently demanded that the government provide basic services and it had failed to do so.
He also highlights that there is a widespread perception among voters that the ANC is not tough enough on corruption.
Limiting Excessive Spending
But Msimang wants her party's proposed Government of National Unity (GNU) to put a cap on excessive spending as South Africans face a rising cost of living.
The ANC has said it supports the scheme given the current political climate.
The party has said it will seek to bring opposition groups into power after losing its majority in recent elections for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994.
Msimang says the new government must prioritise the poor.
“The government's expenses don't seem to follow what's called the handbook. The handbook is designed and the privileges and things provided vary from one era to the next. The whole population suffers.”
“Let us show that we are sympathetic to others in society and refrain from extravagance, even if it is a matter of appearance and PR,” Msimang added.
-Reporter Ziel Mudaniyana
