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Nothing much to celebrate on Freedom Day - IFP

Durban - South Africa had nothing much to celebrate on Freedom Day, the Inkatha Freedom Party said on Monday.

"People are still living in shacks without water, sanitation, electricity and proper roads. Our economy is in decline with Eskom adding to our woes, thousands of people are losing their jobs and crime is on the increase," the party's leader in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature Blessed Gwala said in a statement.

"The recent spate of xenophobic attacks has dealt a damaging blow to our international image and we still do not have a solution in sight. Those in government lack vision and respond to situations in a knee-jerk manner long after the damage is done."

People could not celebrate Freedom Day when they were unemployed and hungry, the statement continued. South Africa might have attained 20 years of political freedom, but its people were not economically free.

"Many of our parastatals are facing serious challenges while many government departments are in disarray. Those in government promised a better life for all when they actually meant a better life for a few," Gwala said.

"We cannot allow our country to slide further down the slippery slope of corruption, maladministration and ineptitude. There is an urgent need for a change in government if we are to have anything to celebrate on this day in the future."

As South Africa observed Freedom Day, the IFP called on all South Africans to show a spirit of ubuntu to all people in the country.

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