By Moshoeshoe Monare
Political Editor
Allan Boesak, who resigned from Cope yesterday, wants to meet President Jacob Zuma about possibly rejoining the ANC and "playing a role".
A spokesperson for Zuma, Zizi Kodwa, confirmed to the Cape Times yesterday that Boesak had requested a meeting with Zuma.
"If he wants to see the president, he will meet with him and we acknowledge that many people were misled, including (Boesak), to join Cope," Kodwa said. "The president will meet with Boesak at an appropriate time as requested. He has asked to meet the president ... I don't know the reasons, we will learn from the meeting.
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| 'When people leave home they feel obliged to explain why they left' |
"When people leave home they feel obliged to explain why they left, and they can only do that to the head of the family."
However, Kodwa was quick to point out that Zuma was cautious of people "joining the organisation for material benefit".
The Cape Times was told that Boesak had wanted to speak to Zuma when the president was in the Western Cape a week ago, but this did not take place.
"He wants to discuss playing a role in the ANC," an ANC insider said.
Before Boesak joined Cope in December last year, it was reported that failure by the ANC to acknowledge that he was jailed for fraud and theft because he kept silent to "protect persons in sensitive positions" appeared to have driven him to the splinter group.
| Boesak said the party structures were in disarray |
A memorandum written by Boesak detailed how he discussed different roles he could play to help the organisation, including leading a civil society movement, a job as minister in the presidency or - his preferred choice - the post of South Africa's ambassador to the United Nations.
The anti-apartheid activist cleric is the second Cope leader to leave the party within a week after former election strategist Simon Grindrod, who was on suspension, terminated his membership.
Lynda Odendaal, the party's former second deputy president, left months ago, citing a power struggle as a reason for her departure. Mlungisi Hlongwane, former elections strategist, gave the same reasons when he left before the polls to rejoin the ANC.
In his resignation statement on Tuesday, Boesak also cited factional fighting and power struggles as reasons for leaving the party formed mainly by disgruntled former ANC members and leaders.
"When I joined Cope in December, 2008, I said expressly that I wished no position of leadership in the structures of the party. This was again repeated in the letter to the party leadership on February 4, 2009, when I was approached by the leadership and various groupings with a request to make myself available as premier candidate," he said.
"I then again expressed my deep reluctance to take up public office through Cope, and it was only after the severest pressures that I conceded to assist the party in the elections."
The former UDF leader mentioned "deep resentments caused by the irregularities with the list process and the interim leadership situation persisted and made normal work almost impossible".
Boesak said the party structures were in disarray, and that many people were suspended for raising "critical voices that leadership in the Western Cape do not wish to be heard. Many others have resigned".
"Like others, I chose not to attend those debilitating meetings, but to rather concentrate on doing what I can to build the image of the party in other ways while serving the South African people through the position I held in the Western Cape parliament."
He said he was returning to "civil society (to continue) my work on the Globalisation Project with the churches in South Africa and Germany".
Boesak could not be reached for comment.
A woman who answered his phone said Boesak was not prepared to grant any interviews at this stage.
Cope's spokesperson, Phillip Dexter, confirmed that the party had received Boesak's resignation letter "with regret", but said "we do not agree with Dr Boesak's reasons for resigning".
- This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Times on November 04, 2009
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