South African opposition party Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on the African National Congress (ANC) to quit its boycott against the MTN campaign, saying its tactics are that of a typical bully.
Mmusi Maimane, national spokesperson for the DA, has issued a written plea to the ANC to call off its boycotting the ‘Know Your DA’ campaign, which included the distribution of more than 2.5 million DA-branded MTN vouchers.
The ANC’s shunning of MTN was labelled “irresponsible” by the DA.
Maimane continued: “These are the kind of bully-boy tactics that the ANC employed in the First National Bank (FNB) advertisement saga earlier this year.”
The spokesperson explained the agreement was not exclusively made with MTN, but rather through a third party contract involving voucher advertising companies.
Furthermore, the DA pointed out its negotiations are similar to various made with the other top South African cellular companies.
According to the DA, the choice to incorporate airtime vouchers as part of its campaign offer was based on the benefits of connecting with the South African population.
Aimed at educating the nation on the DA’s history and policies, ‘Know Your DA’ has also spread 1.6 million pamphlets and conversed with 490,000 South Africans.
“We have every right to utilise this platform to spread our campaign message that we fought against apartheid,” Maimane insisted.
He confirmed the DA’s determination to continue with its proceedings.
“These kinds of threats and intimidation have no place in a democracy where freedom of association and the right to campaign freely are guaranteed by the Constitution,” he said.
Maimane believes the response is a sign of panic over the DA gaining support which threatens the rule of the ANC.
