Johannesburg - ANC stalwarts are demanding a meeting with embattled President Jacob Zuma, who also serves as ANC leader.
The stalwarts, who include prominent anti-apartheid figures, are concerned that the “blatant looting of state resources” is being carried out by those they regarded as leaders.
They laid the ANC misfortunes squarely at the door of Zuma’s divisive leadership, saying the movement was bleeding membership under the watch “of the crowd in charge now”, and that they wanted to clean up the mess.
On Thursday, the ANC stalwarts, including Reverend Frank Chikane, Rivonia triallists Andrew Mlangeni and Ahmed Kathrada and former SAA chairwoman Cheryl Carolus, among others, addressed the media at Parktown in Joburg, following the release of Public Protector's the state capture report.
Chikane said the fact that more than 100 ANC stalwarts had come together indicated the level of concern about the country's direction under Zuma’s leadership.
He admitted that they were facing a crisis. “The stalwarts feel it is critical at this point to have a direct interaction with the president and the top six (of the ANC) to discuss the crisis the movement is facing, which is impacting negatively on this country,” said Chikane.
They also criticised the ANC for effectively denying them an opportunity to meet Zuma over the many scandals associated with his administration. The ANC couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
On Tuesday, former president Thabo Mbeki wrote to Zuma urging him to meet with the veterans as they had “advanced extremely serious observations about the current situation as it relates to the ANC and the democratic revolution”.
To ensure the ANC remained loyal to its values and obligations to the people of South Africa and Africa, “the current leadership of the ANC, with you at its helm, must engage the... veterans with all due seriousness”, Mbeki said in the letter.
Carolus said they were “deeply upset” about the recent events in the country: “Our country is burning and the ANC is missing in action. We are appalled by the flagrant disregard of our Constitution and the rule of law.”
She lashed out at Zuma for surrounding himself with “dodgy characters”.
Chikane said the former liberation movement was beginning to be “on the wrong side of history”. The right side of history was about serving the interests of the people of South Africa and not oneself.
Zuma has admitted that the ANC was in trouble and risked losing relevance like other former liberation movements.
“We have reached a point that many former liberation movements reached. After two decades (in power) the challenges become too many. Some (movements) split, some change the posture of their government... our movement has reached that point,” Zuma said last week.
The president is facing sustained calls to step down from within the ANC, civil society, the business sector, and opposition parties, over his flouting of the Constitution, the Nkandla scandal, and the controversial axing of Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister, to name but a few scandals under his watch.
The Star