The government only cares about the wealth of President Jacob Zuma and the Guptas, instead of the welfare of its citizens, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane said on Tuesday.

Maimane was addressing residents at a public meeting in Morokweng, North West, as part of his #Change19Tour.

"You have a government that no longer cares what happens to you here in this far-flung corner of the country. You simply don’t matter to them any longer, because they have become a government that looks after themselves and their friends first, and the people last," Maimane said.

He said the billions of rands that had been diverted towards the controversial Gupta family, which has close links with Zuma, was money that could have made a difference in people’s lives.

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane announced last month that she would be launching a new investigation into State capture, he said.

"But she didn’t give us any details of whom or what she intended to investigate. Of course, we were skeptical, given her track record in office to date," he said.

Maimane said he had written to Mkhwebane and asked her to explain the scope of the new investigation.

"Since the previous Public Protector’s report, we’ve seen hundreds of thousands of Gupta emails leaked to the press, directly implicating the President (Zuma) and the three Gupta brothers in the looting of our resources. She has enough evidence to investigate this matter, right to the very top," he said.

'Mountain of evidence'

Maimane said on July 18 he had received a reply from Mkhwebane informing him that her investigation would focus on three things: Eskom complaints after the re-appointment of Brian Molefe as CEO; allegations of a R5.3-billion kickback on locomotive procurement; and the role of Malusi Gigaba in the appointment of Iqbal Shama and Molefe to the Transnet board.

According to Maimane, Mkhwebane would also investigate "new State capture allegations, including the leaking of confidential information to the Guptas by Faith Muthambi, and allegations of South African immigration officials positioned in India to assist Gupta associates and businesses".

Maimane complained that the names of the main players were not on the list.

"Despite a mountain of evidence, she has deliberately avoided going after the four main players in this corrupt super-syndicate: Jacob Zuma, Atul Gupta, Ajay Gupta and Rajesh Gupta," he said.

Everyone else on Mkhwebane’s list was just a minor player in this saga, he added.

The ANC government had proved, over and over again, "that it does not have the will to kick a corrupt president and his corrupt cronies out", he said.

"Our only hope lies in a fresh start under a new government. And this is where you come in. Because, only through the power of your vote, can we save our country," Maimane said.