Money threatens to tear ANC apart – Mbete
ANC national chairwoman Baleka Mbete says party members must stop “using money to determine the direction of the ANC and who leads it”.
Speaking in Bhisho during former ANC provincial chairman Dumisani Mafu’s memorial service this week, Mbete admitted infighting and divisions existed in ANC.
“We cannot unite our people if we fail to unite ourselves as the ANC,” she said.
“It has not been easy because, inside the organisation, we are all alike. We know each other well, but there are new cultures that have emerged.
“There are new tendencies threatening to wreak havoc, tendencies where money determines the direction of the ANC and who is going to lead us.”
She urged her ANC comrades to speak out against divisions and “new cultures that are threatening to render the movement asunder”.
Mbete, who is also speaker of the National Assembly, admitted it was not a joy ride to be an ANC leader these days, saying some party members have since discarded ANC values and were compromising party unity.
“It’s tough in the ANC, comrades. Sometimes you look at a particular comrade you have known for a long time and discover that you no longer know such comrade because of these new cultures.”
She said unity within party structures was critical as that would translate to unity of all South African people.
She also urged members to approach and convince those who had defected from the party and chose to stand as independent candidates in the upcoming August 3 local government elections to return to the ruling party.
“Part of what we are required to do is to talk to those who have left and try to convince them to return.
“Over time, comrades, we got divided as we bruised each other at various moments in the life of the organisation. We should stop trying to destroy one another. We need to be truthful and work for the ANC.”
She also urged her comrades not to backchat one another in public, as it was “tarnishing” the ANC’s name.
“If you hear something about your comrades, go to them and ask them calmly about that. Don’t take it to the media as that will tarnish the ANC.”
Yesterday Mbete, one of those touted to take over the party’s presidential reins late next year, was on a campaign trail in Mnquma subregion.