Ramaphosa’s royal visit part of ANC renewal plan

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa and four members of the party’s top six paid Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini a courtesy visit at his Osuthu Palace in Nongoma in northern KwaZulu-Natal yesterday as part of a campaign to renew and unite the ruling party.

Ramaphosa was accompanied by his deputy‚ David Mabuza‚ national chairman Gwede Mantashe‚ secretaryAce Magashule and treasurer Paul Mashatile.

The ANC leaders also briefed King Zwelithini on the outcome of the 54th national elective conference which was held in Nasrec, Johannesburg last month.

Magashule told the media the purpose of the meeting was to introduce the new ANC leadership to the king, but, more importantly, it was about the renewal and revival of the party.

The ANC was dogged by deep divisions ahead of its elective conference which saw Ramaphosa defeat Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

“It’s about the renewal and revival of the ANC as we celebrate 106 years.”

Magashule said the ANC would work towards uniting the party.

Magashule said warring KwaZuluNatal ANC leaders had also been invited to attend the meeting with the king as part of the attempts to unify the party.

Ramaphosa echoed Magashule‚ saying they were pleased that the drive of renewing the ANC was being done under the king’s auspices.

“Your majesty, we’re going to work very hard to forge the unity that you and the majority of the people want to see in the ANC,” he said.

Ramaphosa also praised the king for his passion to work the land.

He said the ANC conference had resolved to expropriate land without compensation.

“We took a resolution that in the last 23 years we have not seen the progress we would have liked to see in terms of land distribution. We’re now going to return the land to our people. We’re going to expropriate land without compensation.”

However‚ Ramaphosa said this should be done without harming the country’s economy‚ agricultural activities and threatening food security.

Ramaphosa presented the Zulu monarch with three of his own African long-horned Ankole-Watusi cattle from his farm, as well as another cow.

During his visit before the conference last year‚ he also presented the king with a cow from the same breed. The king in turn gave him a shield made of Nguni cowhide.

The visit by the ANC’s top leadership to the province will also see them laying wreaths at the graves of founding party leaders John Langalibalele Dube‚ Josiah Gumede and Inkosi Albert Luthuli.

Magashule said they would also visit other traditional leaders in the Eastern Cape and across the country.

However, he would not be drawn to comment on the agenda of the ANC NEC meeting on Wednesday as calls for President Jacob Zuma to step down gain momentum.

● Parliament’s rules review subcommittee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday and Thursday to deliberate on a draft procedure for implementing section 89(1) of the Constitution, which deals with the removal of a president. — DDC