Leader of the newly formed Sizwe Ummah Nation (SUN) political party, Rasheed Ebrahim Gutta, has called for South Africans to vote wisely in next week’s elections as the country was in dire need of capable and visionary leaders.
The former businessman, who has indicated that he has put his business endeavours on hold in order to contribute to the betterment of the country, was recently announced as the SUN Party’s parliamentary candidate ahead of next week’s elections.
“This attitude of entitlement and rent-seeking from leaders must come to an end. We want the people to keep their factories open, and as a result, many factories have closed down in this country. Now, manufacturing contributes less than 12 percent to GDP and, as a result, unemployment continues to soar,” he said.
Gutta, who was speaking during the second round table political dialogue hosted by The Star on Wednesday, said his business experience made him the ideal candidate to effect change in the country’s political landscape which has allowed countries such as China to progress more rapidly than South Africa, a country with vast mineral resources was a sign that the country needs new leaders.
“If we are elected into power, we believe this pandemic of unemployment can be changed almost immediately. This is because, in our first 100 days, we are going to effect structural reforms because the economy is controlled by a few people. So, we need to show genuine transformation in the economy,” he added.
The Sun Party has been funded on the promotion of a Godly government, equality, and making sure that poverty comes to an end through job creation and beneficiation of local commodities, which Gutta said were in abundance in spite of the crippling poverty levels which characterise the 30 years of the country’s democratic dispensation.
Gutta said most of the country’s political parties were funded by those who seek to control the economic agenda of the country adding that during his mission to find like-minded parties, he met many such parties.
“We will also prioritise beneficiation where we discourage importing our raw materials and impose penalties. The other problem of inequality is due to high import rates and less exports of goods made inside the country. We need to employ employment equity reforms and ensure locals are prioritised.”
“As the Sun Party, we do not depend on interest groups but we dictate our own policies which are in the best interests of South Africa and its citizens. On my journey looking for political parties, I met parties that were not transparent about who their funders were and who are perpetuating political monopoly, ” he said.
In April at the launch of the party, Gutta indicated that the current economic and social policies of the governing party were preventing the country’s economic growth which was why the country’s unemployment levels have continued to remain stubborn.
“The ANC-led government under President Cyril Ramaphosa has mismanaged the country and continues the pillaging and looting unabated.
“The continued load shedding, water shortages and collapse of Transnet, among other state-owned entities, have had a devastating effect on the economy and living conditions of the people in this country, yet the ANC-led government wants to be given another opportunity,” Gutta said.
The Star