Kenneth Meshaw, leader of the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) He called for eradicating endemic corruption in the bidding system to ensure the delivery of services to the masses.
Meshaw was campaigning in Empangeni, in northern KwaZulu-Natal. This will be the largest party rally in the state ahead of the May 29 vote.
Mr Meshaw said his party, if voted to power, would ensure the decentralization of service delivery and the empowerment of local authorities.
“The bidding system benefits a very small number of people and takes corruption to another level, because those who win the bid exaggerate the numbers. We're saying we lost good infrastructure because we lost the good things that were happening in the past. When you were a kid, the municipality fixed the robots, the municipality fixed the pipes, the municipality. We've fixed everything inside. We want to bring the service closer to the people.”
Meshaw added that the ACDP is also seeking the deportation of illegal immigrants who it says are contributing to increased crime levels in the country.
“It's not easy to get into South Africa, so we're going to strengthen our borders. We want to encourage people if they want to come in, to apply for a visa and to come in legally. But today What we're seeing is people coming into the country without passports, people coming in without visas, people coming in without going through immigration, and we're going to change that. We believe that this is the order of the country.”
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The young people who participated in Imbizo are pinning their hopes on the ACDP to win more seats after the elections, which will address some of their concerns.
“We want him to have more employment opportunities. Services at hospitals should be improved. We want him to take on crime in South Africa.”
“The majority of young people are not working. There is also nepotism and political developments.”
“Young people end up using drugs because they don't have jobs. I want the government to create employment opportunities and ensure that this reduces crime in our communities.”
Pastor Mesho said South Africans would see change in the next general election, insisting there were many reasons to vote for his party.
