ANC not worried about Manyi
THE ANC has dismissed controversial former government spin doctor and media owner Mzwanele Manyi’s decision to leave the governing party, saying he was “just a visitor” who never understood the organisation, despite three decades of service.
Yesterday ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile said: “I don’t think Jimmy (Manyi) ever understood the ANC, he was a visitor.
“If someone wants to form a party and get one vote or two, they will attack the ANC. I’m expecting a lot of negative attacks on the ANC (in the run-up to the elections) because that’s how opposition parties try to thrive.”
Mashatile also rubbished Manyi’s claim that the ANC had “done all it could do and is now very tired and fatigued”, reversing post-1994 gains, losing its hegemony and moral compass and reaching saturation point.
“Anybody who understands the ANC would never say such a thing,” Mashatile said.
He cast doubts over whether Manyi would lure ANC members and voters into the pro-death penalty African Transformation Movement (ATM).
Manyi announced that he had joined the ATM on Wednesday and would be a member of its national executive committee and be responsible for its policies and strategy.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Independent Electoral Commission’s launch of the national and provincial elections at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg, yesterday, Mashatile said the ANC had good policies, had put plans in place and would focus on implementation.
“We are focusing on the work that we need to do with our people.”
Mashatile said that in the next five years, the ANC would double its efforts to ensure it addressed the issues South Africans had been raising.