By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen says President Cyril Ramaphosa is already having a sense that he won’t return to the Union Buildings after the elections.
Steenhuisen addressed a voter registration event hosted by the parties signed up to the Multi-Party Charter in Johannesburg on Thursday.
He said the country had grown tired of the ANC-led government for its failures.
“We are tired, as South Africans, of unemployment, we are tired of corruption, we are tired of broken promises and we are tired of politicians who don’t care about the people and only care about themselves,” he said.
The DA leader also took a swipe at the president and the governing party.
There’s a man who calls himself the president of South Africa and he hides away in the Union Buildings and he never does anything. He makes promises, but he never delivers anything and you know what, he is scared and his party is terrified because they know that on the 8th of February that he will be delivering the last State of the Nation Address for the ANC.
“He is terrified and his party is so scared of all of us coming together from different parties, putting aside our differences and working together towards a common goal because we love our country and we want to rescue our country. He is so terrified that they are already trying to find excuses about why they lost the elections,” Steenhuisen continued.
He further called on the Multi-Party Charter supporters to “fight in every corner” ahead of the national and provincial elections.
“We are going to take our message of hope and change to every South African, to every community, wherever you have been before, whatever you have done before, it’s time to unite with the Multi-Party Charter because together we can win,” the DA leader added.
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) president Velenkosini Hlabisa highlighted the importance of this year’s elections.
“2024 is a moment for South Africans to fundamentally change the trajectory of our country by unseating a failed government and empowering a new government.
“For the first time in 30 years since the 1994 elections, the ruling party is likely to lose the majority [and] if that happens a coalition opposition of parties stands ready to form a new government.
In December, the Multi-Party Charter welcomed two new parties, Ekhethu People’s Party (EPP) and the United Christian Democratic Party (UCDP), taking up the total number to 10.
The pre-election coalition pact consists of ActionSA, IFP, FF+ and the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), among other parties.
The second voter registration weekend will take place between 8am and 5pm on 3 and 4 February.
More than 23 300 registration stations will be open across all provinces.
While there are currently 27 million eligible voters on the voters’ roll, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) is targeting 39.7 million people for the elections.
Meanwhile the Department of Home Affairs has extended weekend operating hours for ID collections ahead of the latest voter registration weekend.
The department said the extension is for ID, temporary IDs for collections for citizens to register to vote for this year’s election.
Operational hours will be extended from 16:00 to 18:00 for ID collection on Friday.
On Saturday and Sunday, the offices will open for nine hours, from 8 am to 5 pm.
“Services to be offered are application and collection of IDs and applications for Temporary Identification Certificates (TICs). The TICs cost R70 and are issued on the spot,” said spokesperson Siya Qoza
“We encourage clients who have applied for identification documents and have been waiting for three weeks or more to seize this opportunity by visiting their Home Affairs office to collect these critical documents.”