Johnathan Paoli
THE ANC has called on its members to reject the agenda of the ‘JZ-party’ project and all other divisive, anti-transformation and counter revolutionary projects aimed at derailing the forward march to what the ruling party calls a “National Democratic Society”.
The ANC’s NEC said on Monday that it took note of the announcement by former president Jacob Zuma on 16 December that he would be campaigning for another political party and who further launched a series of vitriolic attacks against the party and its leadership specifically.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said that this development occurred within a context where anti-transformation forces were converging to “stop the march towards a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous country that truly belongs to all”.
Bhengu-Motsiri said Zuma’s dedication to the new party was nothing short of a deliberate attempt to use the proud history of the armed struggle against the apartheid regime to lend credibility to what is blatantly a counter-revolutionary agenda.
“It was the sacred ground rule of UmKhonto we Sizwe, the glorious People’s army which all its members were taught, that this army was established to advance the political goals of the ANC. It implemented what the ANC NEC instructed it to do,” the spokesperson said.
The party said that the war against poverty, inequality and unemployment remained the primary objective of the transformation struggle and that at this point in the National Democratic Revolution, there was no need to advance the program through the opportunistic use of military symbolism.
The spokesperson said the JZ-party project aims to cast doubt on constitutional democracy and that the ANC categorically rejected the dangerous suggestion that the electoral system could and would be manipulated.
The party said Zuma emulated the very essence of counter-revolution and actively impugned upon the integrity of the ANC and campaigned to dislodge the party from power, while claiming that he has not terminated his membership.
Bhengu-Motsiri said that the chain of events required the organisation to invoke measures to protect and preserve its integrity and prevent further damage to its reputation.
“The ANC is willing, able and ready to defend the gains of freedom and our constitutional democracy. Accordingly, we call on ANC members, our alliance partners, and all South Africans to reject the agenda of the JZ-party project and all other divisive, anti-transformation and counter-revolutionary projects aimed at derailing the forward march to a National Democratic Society,” she said.
INSIDE POLITICS
