Phuti Mosomane with Johnathan Paoli
Former Deputy President David Mabuza has dismissed any potential threat the appearance of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party might hold for the prospect of the ruling party in the upcoming elections at the end of this month.
Mabuza was speaking on the sidelines of the campaign in Olievenhoutbosch, Tshwane on Sunday afternoon, and said that just like previous splinter parties who broke from the ruling party, such as the Congress of the People (COPE), the MK party would not rock the ANC as much as everyone expects.
He was accompanied by ANC NEC member Nonceba Mhlauli, the Gauteng Chairperson Panyaza Lesufi and Provincial Secretary TK Nyamazane Nciza, and called for the “return to normal” as the ANC has faced bigger obstacles in the past.
“We have been through this journey before. We went through the formation of the Congress of the People, which was very formidable in my take. The Economic Freedom Fighters are not really formidable. The MK party is not really formidable in my take,” he said.
Top ANC leaders are on a campaign trail just a few weeks before the 29 May National General Elections with former President Thabo Mbeki leading the charge by electioneering in Soshanguve on Saturday.
Also, on Saturday SACP Gauteng Provincial Secretary Jacob Mamabolo accompanied former ANC President Kgalema Motlanthe to Tsakane in Ekurhuleni.
While on the same day Cyril Ramaphosa conducted door-to-door in Helderberg, Western Cape. The President spent the morning listening to stories of people on the poor service delivery.
Earlier party Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said campaigning has been marked by the inspiring presence of ANC stalwarts—former President Thabo Mbeki, former Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, former Deputy President DD Mabuza and former Treasurer Matthews Phosa who was in Mpumalanga this weekend.
“Together, they’re engaging in open dialogues with South Africans, acknowledging past challenges but, more significantly, celebrating our collective triumphs over the last three decades.
“As the momentum builds, more stalwarts are joining the campaign trail in the days to come. Details of such will be communicated as programmes are finalised,” Mbalula said.
Mbalula said deployment of ANC heavyweights was not a sign of panic but rather an illustration that the party has entered a “dynamic phase of campaign”.
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