Mbeki rips into ANC elective conference
JOHANNESBURG - Former President Thabo Mbeki has torn into the leadership squabbles that recently played out in the Eastern Cape provincial elective conference which saw Oscar Mabuyane re-elected as provincial chair.
“According to my calculation, I might be wrong, the conference does not discuss policy. The conference did not discuss organisational reports because it was busy with credentials. It’s a big battle about credentials. Why? Because the principle task of the conference is to elect ‘me’,” said Mbeki.
The former head of State was addressing a gathering of the ANC Youth League national youth task team political school on Sunday under the banner ‘Rebuild, renew, revive, reimagine and reposition the ANCYL towards economic freedom in our lifetime, now or never’ in Midrand, Johannesburg.
Calibre
Questioning the calibre of leaders in positions in the ruling party, Mbeki said the organisation has been exhibiting ‘a downward graph’ since 2019.
“I am quite certain all of us are very worried about what’s happening to the movement, and given the place of the governing party since 1994, the impact of what is going wrong within the movement and its impact on the country.”
He said he was also sure there is concern over how the masses have responded to the ANC.
“In the national elections in 2009, 2014 and 2019, it is a downward graph. Very consistent with each of those national elections, fewer and fewer people vote for the ANC.”
Mbeki said the same was happening during municipal elections.
“That’s why when people look at the totality of the municipal votes last year, nationally the ANC got less than 50 per cent. The masses of our people are making a statement about the ANC and it is a very serious statement.”