South African Press Association - January 25, 2009

He was addressing supporters at the launch of his party's election manifesto at the Safa-Simba stadium in Pimville, Soweto.

"Crime is a clear example of the huge gap between what is said and what is done... We thought we saw the bottom of how bad the failure to manage crime could be but nothing could prepare us for the spectacle of the incrimination of the head of police, the persecution of the head of the National Prosecuting Authority and the constant attack on judges and the judiciary.

"What hope does the flock have when its sheep dogs tear one another apart rather than guarding it against the approaching wolves?" Buthelezi said.

Change of leadership, followed by a change in policies, was vital to save South Africans from the constant "empty promises they have been bombarded with" for the past 15 years.

"The people of South Africa can no longer rely on false promises. We now need to bring about a change in leadership which shifts the moral basis of this country from those who are greedy, incompetent and corrupt... to those who have commitment, competence and integrity," Buthelezi said.

Corruption, he said, was one of the pressing issues which the ruling party had consistently promised to resolve but failed dismally at doing.

"In spite of all the pledges against corruption, corruption has now permeated our society from the very top to its very bottom," he said.

He noted poverty and HIV and Aids as other issues the ANC-led government had failed to address.

"One of the worst failures of this government is its abysmal track record in dealing with poverty. People are losing their jobs all around me while young people are dying of HIV and Aids.

"Hundreds of thousands of children died unnecessarily because their mothers did not receive drugs which could have prevented them from being infected with HIV at birth. This is a tragedy which could and should have been prevented," he said.

On education, Buthelezi said the education system was in disarray.

"Our children are failing in large numbers. This is happening not because our children have suddenly become less intelligent, but because the machinery required for their education has become more inefficient, more corrupt and more unproductive," he said.

To implement the "change", Buthelezi said his party "can bring about the required solution to the core and essential problems" of HIV and Aids, crime, corruption, poverty, unemployment and a failing education system.

"If we don't solve this pool of problems, our Republic is doomed and the electorate of 2009 will be remembered as having foregone for itself and its children the gains which many generations struggled for," he said.

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