Johannesburg - ANC stalwart Epainette Mbeki has called President Jacob Zuma the better choice for ANC president though he may be too “easy going” for leadership, the Times reported on Wednesday.
“He is easy-going and at times fails to make his own decisions,” Mbeki told the paper.
“He wants to please everyone and, in the end, fails to fulfil all his promises. That is the weakness of his leadership and will be his own downfall as a leader,” she said.
While the 94-year-old Mbeki expressed reservations about Zuma, she did not believe deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe was a viable alternative.
“I don't have confidence in Kgalema and would not vote him to the presidency. He is a difficult character to understand. One does not know what he stands for,” Mbeki said.
“It is difficult to know where he would be leading the ANC and the country to if he could be president.”
Mbeki is the mother of former president Thabo Mbeki, who lost the presidency of the ANC to Zuma and was eventually recalled as state president.
She said Zuma could not be blamed Thabo Mbeki's political defeats as he had lost in “a democratic process”.
“Thabo is a disciplined cadre of the movement. It was the national executive committee of the ANC - not Msholozi (Zuma) as an individual - who recalled Thabo.” - Sapa