Thabo Mbeki calls for honesty from ANC

Former president Thabo Mbeki has challenged the KwaZulu-Natal ANC leadership to act in a manner that will ensure the electorate returns the party at the helm of the provincial government.

Mbeki said the party’s fate in government rests on the ruling party engaging with the voters honestly and fixing the mistakes that have undermined it in the eyes of the public.

He made the remarks after he was asked by journalists about the ANC’s prospects in the May 29 elections.

He opted not to give a clear answer when asked about the party’s chances of winning.

KwaZulu-Natal is one of the hotly contested provinces and the ANC has deployed its senior leaders to the province to woo voters.

The party is desperately trying to hang on to power amid challenges posed by the resurgence of the IFP and the emergence of Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP).

Former president Mbeki is on the campaign trail in KZN for a few days. On Saturday he campaigned at uMgungundlovu, while on Sunday he led the party’s campaign in Durban and in KwaDukuza.

As part of the ANC’s campaign in KwaDukuza, Mbeki visited the family of late ANC president Chief Albert Luthuli and laid flowers at his grave.

He also briefly engaged with members of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa.

Addressing congregants of the church, which is located at the site where Luthuli is buried, Mbeki pleaded with them to vote for the ANC, saying the party was working hard to fix its mistakes.

He urged the congregants and the public to vote for the ANC as the party acknowledged its mistakes and was working to address them.

Asked about his party’s prospects based on the engagements he has had with community members in the province, the former president was non-committal about whether the party would be victorious.

“I really don’t want to make predictions. We are trying to communicate here in the province of KwaZulu-Natal who the ANC is, what it stands for and what it intends to do about the wrong things (the party has done).

“It is really a matter for the people of the province to decide. I’ve worked with the people in this province for many years. These are rational people, they are thinking people and they know this ANC very well.

“I think that when we communicate with them in a manner that they know and believe is truthful, then they will do the right thing, but it is really up to the people. But I think we must really communicate with people in a manner that people are convinced that this is the truth,” said Mbeki.

He also spoke about the controversy surrounding former president Jacob Zuma who now leads the MKP despite claiming to still be a member of the ANC.

“He is a former leader of the ANC. In terms of what he’s doing now, the ANC has said he has done something which is in violation of the ANC constitution and therefore must be taken through a disciplinary process. I think the ANC is correct in doing that.

“It’s those ANC processes that will decide whether he stands relative to the ANC but the point has been made that the way he has acted, he has subtracted himself from the ANC. You can’t behave like that and continue to say ‘I am a member of the ANC’,” Mbeki said.

He remarked that Zuma’s behavior had influenced his ties with the ANC.

“You can’t say, ‘don’t vote ANC, vote for another party but I’m still ANC’.

That is a contradiction. It’s not an honest position, it’s a dishonest position,” Mbeki said.

The Mercury