Durban — The current instability in the ANC has forced the party’s Limpopo provincial chairperson and Premier Stanley Mathabatha to dishonour the promise he made to the KwaZulu-Natal ANC to visit it before the party’s elective conference in mid-December.
Addressing ANC faithfuls gathered at the Durban Exhibition Centre on Sunday, KZN ANC spokesperson Mafika Mndebele did not mince his words.
“We were supposed to start this meeting at 11am, and the Limpopo delegation has to rush back to Johannesburg …
“It would have been wrong of us not to say something. The delegates visiting us here from Limpopo have had to rush back because of their flight.
“There are misconceptions and misperceptions that are said about the province of KZN,” he said.
“Comrades, it is done deliberately so that they derail us from this mood we are in. We are in the mood of war,” Mndebele said.
“We are a generation of heroes. We are the generation of Ilmbe (the axe) … We are the generation of John Langalibalele Dube. We are the generation of (Pixley ka Isaka) Seme, and many other Struggle heroes.
“There is something you cannot take away from the leadership of KwaZulu-Natal ever since time immemorial – we are not a province of cowards … When all other provinces said ‘second term’, we said ‘no second term’.
“There is one thing you cannot take away from the KZN leadership since time immemorial … We are not cowards,” Mndebele said.
“We are the only province which said no ‘second term’, when all the other provinces were saying ‘second term’ – and we said ‘second term for what? For whose intention? And for whose benefit’?”
He said, “We then started a programme of engaging comrades from other regions and provinces – not from an arrogant point of view, but from saying to them comrades ‘let’s think about this movement of Seme, let us think about the movement of Lembede’.”
Comparing the current ANC perceived to be buying votes, Mndebele used the example of the US, where he alleged “money’ determines the leadership of its government”.
“Comrades, if we do not stand up and fight against this issue of using money in the movement, the ANC is gone. The next generation will not see the ANC.
“Because everyone who wants to be elected, it would be like in America where the one who raises the most money becomes the president and the leader of the organisation, and we are NOT going to allow that in South Africa,” Mndebele stressed.
The Limpopo delegation, represented by ANC Sekhukhune regional secretary Tala Mathope, apologised on behalf of Limpopo and Mathabatha for being unable to honour his promise.
“But a lot of you know that since the report on Phala Phala was issued, there has been some confusion throughout the whole country, especially in our movement.
“First we were told the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) will be meeting on Saturday to discuss the report and chart the way forward around the Phala Phala matter. Were again told that the NEC could not sit, but that it would sit today (Sunday).
“And then later on yesterday (Saturday), we were told that the NEC could not sit, but it will be sitting on Monday (yesterday),” Mathope said.
“Because of that confusion our provincial chair is also involved in a number of NEC meetings in Gauteng.
“So we are just coming here to apologise on behalf of Limpopo and our provincial chair for not being here.
“We had assured the KZN leadership that Stan Mathabatha would come here, before we go to the national conference (on December 16).
“As you know in the politics of the ANC, we support those who support us, and in return you support those who support you,” Mathope said.
Daily News