‘Veterans can help to lift ANC’

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa says the ANC has reconnected with party stalwarts and veterans as they have an important role to play in the reviving the governing party.

Ramaphosa held a meeting with members of the veterans league and said the stalwarts’ participation in the ANC would “lift the party”.

“We have views about what is to be done, what the role of the stalwarts should be in this new dawn that we are in. They are the custodians and guardians of our movement,” Ramaphosa said.

‘’They’ve been in the trenches and contributed greatly to the growth of our movement, so we invited them to participate more actively in the various campaigns that the ANC will be involved in, including the election campaign… we are all one thing.”

Previously, veterans did not see eye to eye with party leaders under former president Jacob Zuma’s leadership. They accused Zuma of sowing divisions and urged him to resign. The veterans have called for an all-inclusive consultative conference since 2016 in the wake of the infighting within the party and expressed concerns that the ANC’s deepening crisis, attributed to corruption and factionalism, required urgent attention. Their appeal to Luthuli House for party renewal fell on deaf ears. Instead the ANC top brass invited the veterans to participate in a two-day consultative conference alongside the policy conference.

However, the veterans opted not to take part in the consultative conference and demanded a separate meeting that would include branch members.

Yesterday veterans league president Snuki Zikalala said the elders are ready to work with the ANC.

“We agreed that we will build the integrity of the ANC and restore the confidence people had in the ANC.” – African News Agency (ANA)