Come back ‘Juju’, all is forgiven – Ramaphosa
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa and Deputy President David Mabuza have extended an olive branch to EFF leader Julius Malema and others‚ urging them to return “home” to the ANC.
“We would love to have Julius Malema back in the ANC. He is still ANC down‚ deep in his heart‚” Ramaphosa said yesterday. He also urged others to rejoin the ANC. “The ANC is the home of many political parties that splintered out of it and we would like to build unity among all our people.”
Mabuza said earlier yesterday that he had a “special space in my heart” for Malema.
“We had times together. He knows,” Mabuza said.
“When he was in the ANC‚ I supported him to be the president of the youth league and I remember comrade Julius saying‚ ‘My blood is black‚ green and gold. I will never leave the ANC’.
“The ANC will be better off with him inside the fold‚ so I am going to do my best to request him to reconsider coming back home.”
Ramaphosa and Mabuza were on the campaign trail in Pretoria and Centurion yesterday.
The Electoral Commission (IEC) this weekend held a registration drive and address update campaign in preparation for the 2019 national and provincial elections.
Ramaphosa said the ANC was willing to work with political parties that had similar ideologies and policies to the ANC.
“I have always been open to receiving back those who have left and formed new parties.”
He said the ANC aimed to win back the Tshwane‚ Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay metros in the general elections next year.
“They are in our palm and all we need to do is to close our hand and all the metros are back under the African National Congress’s control.”–TimesLIVE
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa warned yesterday that land invasions would not be tolerated as the ANC moves to change the constitution to expropriate property without compensation.
Much of the land remains in white hands over two decades after apartheid’s demise, despite government programmes aimed at redistribution to narrow racial disparities in ownership.
Speaking to the media in televised remarks near Pretoria after spending the day on a voter registration drive, Ramaphosa was asked about invasions on vacant land in a suburb between Johannesburg and Pretoria which provoked clashes with police.
“We should not tolerate disorder and lawlessness of that type. Nobody has any right to invade land, to violate other people’s rights,” Ramaphosa said.
“All those who want to invade land, they will get to know that we will not allow that.”
Gauteng premier David Makhura said the invaders were not local homeless or landless people and that the invasions appeared to be organised.
The proposal to change the constitution to allow expropriation without payment has spooked markets and evoked the invasions in Zimbabwe that triggered an economic collapse.