By Thapelo Molefe
African National Congress secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says the ANC is unwilling to beg the Democratic Alliance to stay in the Government of National Unity, accusing one of its leaders, Helen Zille, of peddling lies about the party.
“If the DA wants to leave the GNU, they must leave… They can leave tonight. They can leave tomorrow. Anytime they want to leave, or they wish to leave, they can go,” Mbalula told reporters on Thursday.
This comes after DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille publicly expressed her party’s conditions for participating in the GNU, including the post of Deputy President and representation across all cabinet clusters.
Mbalula also rejected claims made by Zille regarding her role in shaping South Africa’s government of national unity.
“We view these claims as not only false, but deliberately misleading, aiming to distort historical facts and elevate their importance in national matters where they lack any foundation,” he said.
Mbalula further stated that Zille’s repeated urge to interfere in the internal affairs of the ANC and her ongoing public attacks on President Cyril Ramaphosa exposed a shameless bid for power and influence.
“We see through these calculated attempts to undermine the ANC’s leadership. It is clear that Zille and her party seek only to weaken the ANC from within, hoping to gain what they cannot secure at the ballot box,” he said.
Mbalula also emphasised that the ANC needed no external figures to prop up its president, saying: “Our internal unity and the resolve of our members are testament to the mandate we have been entrusted with by the South African electorate.”
Additionally, he dismissed Zille’s claims of introducing public-private partnerships into South Africa, saying: “Zille’s claims of introducing public-private partnerships to South Africa are nothing short of ludicrous.”
The ANC-led government had long pioneered cooperative projects that had led to significant milestones, he said in Johannesburg.
Mbalula called the press conference to address various topics in the political space at the moment, including the party’s stance on coalition governments and relationships with other political parties.
He emphasised the ANC’s commitment to the GNU and its willingness to engage with all parties, including the DA, the MK Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters.
He accused Zille of peddling “lies” about the ANC’s relationship with the DA, saying that the party was not deterred by psychological warfare and is focused on delivering services to the people.
There has been an ongoing public feud between the ANC and Zille, with the federal council chairperson taking a hardline stance against the ANC and making various public utterances since the formation of the GNU.
In the latest spat, Zille reportedly told the SA Chamber of Commerce UK that during the GNU negotiations, the ANC “obsessively” wanted control of the international relations portfolio for nefarious reasons.
She said she believed that Iran influenced the South African government to approach the International Court of Justice with its case against Israel, and that the ANC wanted to control the foreign affairs portfolio to maintain its link with “rogue regimes”, which she claimed funded the party.
Despite her public utterances offending many in the ANC, she was invited late last month to serve on a committee in the GNU’s clearing house mechanism that has been tasked with finding a solution to the fight around the new education law.
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