Zuma pleads with rebels amid walkout

Baldwin Ndaba and Thabiso Thakali

Johannesburg: President Jacob Zuma has made an impassioned appeal to ANC members who are unhappy about the party’s municipal candidates’ lists to accept that no changes will be done.

Zuma made his remarks at the Gauteng ANC manifesto launch in the FNB stadium on Saturday.

His appeal came after the party had been rocked by various protest actions when its members marched on the ANC’s offices, including Luthuli House, to demand the removal of certain candidates before the IEC deadline.

There were awkward moments as some section of the crowds began to leave when Zuma took to the podium to address supporters.

Zuma said their grievances and unhappiness should be addressed through the internal processes of the ANC. “Comrades, let us put the interest of the ANC first. Our election machinery depends on the discipline of our members and our volunteers,” he said.

However, ANC Gauteng chairman Paul Mashatile, during his earlier address, made no reference about squabbles on their candidates’ lists. Instead, he said the ANC had nominated the best candidates.

“These are men and women who will serve you diligently, sparing no effort to ensure qualitative capacity to execute their duties. They are going to serve the interests of our people,” Mashatile said.

During his address, Zuma portrayed the ANC as being a victim of political attacks from his opponents. He said his party members must refrain from engaging in any violent acts.

“Do not engage in any violent act even when you are provoked; do not fight with them. Instead, report them to the IEC.

“You should not behave the same way as our detractors. Some of these parties have a history of violent behaviour and thuggery. We should not stoop down to their level. The ANC is a peaceful organisation.”

These were the same sentiments that had been shared by Mashatile, who told supporters not to be the aggressors during their election campaign. He said the opposition would use that and claim the elections were not free and fair.

“We do not want excuses on August 4; we want to beat them free and fair,” he said.

The ANC was left red-faced on Saturday after the party failed to fill up the 94 000-seat FNB stadium as it had promised in an attempt to flex its muscle ahead of elections. The plan to fill the stadium was first revealed on May 13, during the ANC’s provincial general council.

Mashatile said the Gauteng provincial launch was going to be held at FNB Stadium, a switch from the initial idea of hosting the event at the Orlando Stadium.

It appeared that the change of venue was as a result of the EFF attracting more than 40 000 people there. So Gauteng, in a bid for a show of force, opted for the much bigger venue.

During that council, Mashatile predicted that the FNB would be fully packed by 10am on Saturday, but it was not to be. They struggled for more than six hours to get a crowd of over 50 000.

The top tier of the stadium was virtually empty, with patches of orange seats also unoccupied in the lower tiers. The embarrassingly poor attendance led to ANC deputy chairman David Makhura claiming at 1pm that 80 000 people had gone through the stadium turnstiles while another 15 000 were waiting outside.

But by 4pm, when some supporters had already left the stadium, Makhura made another claim that official attendance figure was 85 317.

As he was addressing the crowd and announcing the figures, some of the supporters who came as early as 7am began to leave the stadium even before Zuma could speak.

The situation worsened when Zuma took to the podium. Even loyal supporters within the ANC Women’s League stood up and left.

However, Zuma was not bothered by the dwindling crowd as he appealed to those who remained to vote for the ANC.

“Gauteng is home to the ANC. There is no way we can have any other party being in charge in Gauteng,” he said. – Political Bureau