SA lost Mandela's glitter of hope: Dandala

South Africa has lost the hope provided by former president Nelson Mandela, but the many challenges can still be defeated, says Congress of the People parliamentary leader Mvume Dandala.

Speaking during debate in the National Assembly on President Jacob Zuma's state of the nation address, Dandala paid tribute to Mandela.

Mandela was a strong leader with a sense of honour and a strong moral focus, he said.

"He raised our eyes to what we can become as a nation. He trusted and respected the law and allowed himself to be tested by the law. He insisted upon the separation of the state and party powers.

"He spurned patronage in all its forms. He had depths of compassion for the poor, always treating them with utmost dignity.

"Twenty years on, we have not captured that glitter of hope.

"We have debilitating poverty for millions of our people. In a country with our resource base, it is simply a shame that so many people live below the breadline.

"We have millions of our children unable to read or write, owing to an education system in collapse. We are not safe in our own homes, owing to the high levels of crime," Dandala said.

These problems could be defeated, provided the true state of the nation was acknowledged and the nation was rallied and galvanised to rise to the challenge.

South Africa needed inspirational, yet transformative and action-oriented leadership.

"We have to determine to take corrective measures. This is the only way we can triumph over these many challenges, to build a nation that the whole world will watch in admiration, even as we host the Fifa World Cup.

"South Africans are waiting for the government to invoke our collective sense of honour that we can rise to overcome, just as we have done in the past, to win against all odds."

Dandala urged Zuma and his government to listen carefully to the pulse of the nation.

The people were angry at the promises made, but not fulfilled.

He asked why South Africans should believe Zuma now when, among other things, he promised 500,000 jobs or job opportunities, but almost a million jobs had been lost.

Land redistribution would not meet its 2014 target. Many of the farms bought by government under this scheme had dropped in productivity, if not been left as ghost farms threatening the livelihood of communities.

"Our food security as a nation is under threat. Why should South Africans as a nation believe you now, Mr President?"