He says it occurs for the first time in history that alliance partners call for an ANC president to step down.
Mpumalanga ANC leader David Mabuza has taken his campaign for unity to a greater height using the policy conference to admit the house is falling apart.
Mabuza addressed the ANC provincial policy conference held at the Mbombela stadium on Saturday and said if the ANC-led mass democratic movement failed to unite it will not see the light of day.
The provincial policy conference was attended by all branch executive committee members, regional and alliance leaders as well as municipal deployees.
He said the alliance partners were calling for President Jacob Zuma to step down but they didn’t do this through thorough engagement with the structures, “this is done in the media”.
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“If you say to the ANC, as an alliance partner, that Jacob Zuma must step down, what do you want the ANC to do? Knowing very well that Jacob Zuma was elected by branches of the ANC,” Mabuza said.
“No one anywhere can call for the head of the ANC president except for the branches of the ANC,” Mabuza said to thunderous applause.
“We are at our weakest. We are at our weakest,” he said while on stage.
In April 2017, Cosatu called for Zuma to resign as both ANC and government leader, saying it has lost confidence in him as a person capable of uniting the movement.
This followed a cabinet reshuffle that saw finance minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas sacked and replaced by Melusi Gigaba and Sfiso Buthelezi.
The SACP also wants Zuma to resign, with SANCO endorsing his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa to succeed him.
“The unity and cohesion of the alliance is at its weakest. It’s at its weakest,” Mabuza said.
He said the national congress in December 2017 is the right platform to tell the President to step down.
He said in December 2017 Zuma will step down as ANC president and will do so in 2019 as South Africa’s president.
But he warned the 6000 plus delegates that when Zuma leaves “our problems will remain,” adding Zuma only contributes 1% of the problems “and the rest of the problems we’re all participants”.
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“We have forgotten our duties as the ANC together with the alliance to mobilise society into our programs of transforming society, busy fighting one another.
“And this has affected the movement. If still we want to lead this country and transform society for the better we must understand that that requires a united revolutionary movement. That is the only instrument you can have to transform society, if you don’t have that instrument you must just forget, you can sing nice slogans but it will be the end of you,” he said.
(edited by MLM)
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