RUSTENBURG, June 24 (ANA) – The African National Congress does not need the help of opposition parties to remove President Jacob Zuma, ANC national executive committee member Mathole Motshekga said on Saturday.
“We do not need the DA [Democratic Alliance] or EFF [Economic Freedom Fighters] to help us; we will remove him ourselves. We appeal to him [Jacob Zuma] to step down. If he does not step down at the national conference he will have no choice but to step down,” he told a National Union of Mineworkers Youth Structure (NUMYS) rally in Rustenburg.
“The motion of no confidence [scheduled for the National Assembly] is irrelevant. ANC MP are disciplined, whether the vote is secret or public they will never vote with the opposition. The DA intention is not to remove Zuma but to remove the ANC from power,” he said.
The ANC was in deep crisis because its members did not respect its constitution, tradition, and culture.
“It is the tradition and culture of the ANC that deputy presidents succeed the president. It has happened with Oliver Tambo, it has happened with Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, and Jacob Zuma. Now is the time for Cyril Ramaphosa. If this culture and tradition is followed there will be no crisis in the ANC.” The ANC had lost its values and needed to be renewed and reconnect with the people, Motshekga said.
Earlier, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) deputy general secretary Solly Phetoe said Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa was the only person who could save the ANC and rebuild its dignity.
“We are not afraid to say comrade Ramaphosa is the only person who can save the ANC and restore it to its dignity it enjoyed during the time of [former president] Nelson Mandela. ANC members must fight and protect the ANC.”
The NUM youth should approach the ANC Youth League and “speak sense to them”, that only Ramaphosa could save the face of the ANC. “Go to the ANCYL, speak sense into them, tell them Ramaphosa is a capable leader. He served the ANC with loyalty, he did not leave the ANC when he was not elected deputy president in 1997,” Phetoe said.
The ANCYL want former African Union Commission chairwoman and Zuma’s ex-wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to lead the ANC, while Cosatu and the South African Communist Party have given their support to Ramaphosa.
Motshekga and Phetoe urged the young workers to participate in the activities of the ANC at branch level to ensure that the ANC served the will of the people.
“The policy conference is under threat; people are talking about the radical economic transformation while the ANC in Mangaung resolved that we are in the socio-economic phase. Do not be confused,” Motshekga said.
“Influence decisions at the branch; participate in branch activities. In December looting must stop. Thieves must be arrested and put in jail,” he said.
Earlier, the NUMYS members marched through the streets of Rustenburg, lamenting what they called an “attack” on NUM members by mining companies.
NUMYS national secretary Bonginkosi Mrasi said mining companies were recalling seconded leadership in the full-time structures of the union, undermining negotiated agreements by the NUM. There were also “growing attacks” on NUM branch leaders as well as manipulation of membership statistics.
Despite Ramaphosa’s absence at the rally, union members sang “leadership dumela‚ Ramaphosa dumela” in his honour.
– African News Agency (ANA)
