ANC work must coincide, says Mantashe

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe claimed that the Swedes and the Irish "are a force behind the anarchy that is happening in the platinum industry". File photo: Bongiwe Mchunu

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe claimed that the Swedes and the Irish "are a force behind the anarchy that is happening in the platinum industry". File photo: Bongiwe Mchunu

Published May 3, 2013

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Pretoria - Work the ANC is doing in terms of international relations needs to complement government's work, secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said on Friday.

“How does the party-to-party work complement that of government?” Mantashe asked the ANC's sub-committee on international relations.

“Can we as the party take a decision... and be a lobby agent for our government?”

Mantashe used Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma's appointment as African Union Commission chairwoman as an example.

He said the African National Congress needed to be a lobby agent for government, demanding more resources be given to Dlamini-Zuma so she could do her job and reduce dependence on foreign resources.

Mantashe also used Swaziland as an example.

“We are dealing with it quietly.

“I'm not saying we must do a sit-in at the border gate; we can leave that to some of our allies, but in the ANC we must have a visible programme which talks to the issue,” he said.

Mantashe was speaking in Pretoria at a sub-committee workshop.

He said the party needed more practical, hands-on programmes.

In the ANC there were a number of people who were ambassadors.

“Those people are specialists in international work in the ANC. They are a resource of the ANC... and we have the opportunity today to tap into their knowledge of international work,” Mantashe said. - Sapa

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