The Western Cape’s only independent candidate vying for a parliamentary seat, Zackie Achmat, says he will continue being a voice for the marginalised in society. Rooting out corruption, fixing the state and building communities, are among his top priorities.
Achmat was speaking during a rally in Khayelitsha on the Cape Flats.
Known for his work as a social justice campaigner and Aids activist, Achmat says the rally is to acknowledge the support of various groupings of people who support his campaign. He says the fight for dignified living for the elderly, disabled, queer and other marginalised communities will continue.
“In our country 22% of people trust political parties, 58% of people don’t vote because of the promises that political parties make, political parties do not speak the truth to people, they, in fact, lie or make promises that are impossible to keep because they don’t understand society, economics and politics. So our job is to bring honesty and truth and hard work back into politics.”
Needing some 86 000 votes to garner a parliamentary seat, Achmat says while he is not aligned to any political party, he will work with MPs of integrity, who are committed to clean governance and tackling corruption.
“Parliament has a critical role to play in building a participatory democracy, bringing the voices of people into parliament. That is our job, my work in parliament is going to be on the standing committee on public accounts, even if I’m not put there, any MP can attend committee meetings. Any MP can ask for documents, any MP can ask questions, and that will be my job in parliament to ready, to study, to work with people, to bring people’s voice in.”
He says it is important for the public to have an interest and be aware of how government funds are spent.
2024 Elections | Zackie Achmat 2024 Rally:
