‘The mindset that the government should take people out of poverty needs to change’, according to ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe.
‘Instead, people need to work with the government to take themselves out of poverty’, News24 reports.
‘One of the things that we must change in South Africa is to change the passive nature of our society, where society thinks that it must be taken out of poverty instead of working with government in taking itself out of poverty. I can tell you, if you don’t put your skin in the fire you don’t change the reality around yourself. This is an issue that we need to start building on. We will only succeed if society participates in fighting poverty and other ills of society’, Mantashe said.
Mantashe was speaking on Tuesday after a meeting with Brazilian President Lula da Silva.
Lula Da Silva is popular worldwide, especially in countries that view him as a critic of liberal policies. The Tripartite Alliance has viewed Lula as a figure to emulate when it comes to matters of poverty alleviation.
Mantashe’s comments that citizens should work with the government to take themselves out of poverty contrast with the lessons he said Lula Da Silva shared with leaders.
‘We have learned lessons about the period which Brazil went through that was a very critical period and the fact that President Lula … came back as the president of the republic. We also drew very important lessons on how they managed the question of coalitions because there is no party that is a majority party. They piece together ideas of various parties and he gave insight [into] what is happening. What works there is a question of respecting each other and it’s important from the ANC to learn from that’, Mantashe said.
[Photo: Ricardo Stucket/Sputnik Brasil]