ANC NEC to discuss political landscape, including Zuma’s MK Party

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The African National Congress (ANC) says its National Executive Committee (NEC) starting on Friday will look into political developments in the country, including the formation of the MK Party.

The two-day NEC will be followed by a lekgotla which will end on Monday. The governing party is today holding its normal National Working Committee to plan for the two meetings.

The dissatisfaction over former ANC president Jacob Zuma’s formation of the MK Party and his remarks that he will campaign and vote for this new political formation but remains an ANC member is now up for discussion at the ANC NEC meeting later this week.

“We did indicate when we were headed for January 8, we did not want to be defocused into discussing the MK Party and, of course, the NEC will have a moment to reflect on the political developments in the country including this matter,” says ANC Spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu- Motsiri.

Several ANC leaders in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape have weighed in on Zuma’s formation of the MK Party. Some of them have expressed their irritation while others called for calm.

ANC KZN Provincial Secretary Bheki Mtolo has come out guns blazing against his former party president. He says Zuma was a liability to the ANC and made it to lose more votes during his presidency.

“Zuma should be apologising to the ANC and should be apologising to Ramaphosa because he was given a strong ANC by Mbeki with a two-thirds majority and gave Ramaphosa a divided ANC and a weak ANC. Zuma should apologise to us, not this nonsense of going around and saying that the ANC is weak under Ramaphosa.”

The Eastern Cape Provincial Secretary Oscar Mabuyane, on the other hand, said Zuma failed to win elections even in his own ward.

“There is a certain man who was a leader of the ANC which gave him many positions such as deputy president and president but he failed to win his ward and we have never won the ward where he lives, we gave that man dignity and respect which he didn’t have where he stays.”

But ANC NEC member Dr Zweli Mkhize has called for calm, asking party members not to insult those that they differ with.

” I don’t like this posture that we will be going around and speaking bad about people’s names. I don’t agree that we will call people this and that even if people have taken a decision that we don’t agree with, we must not go around swearing at people and people have the right to open their own parties. It is going to be problematic what we are seeing now of speaking about people’s names will give us problems in the long run.”

But the matter will come before the NEC on Friday and Saturday which will then be followed by the ANC NEC Lekgotla which will among others discuss the contents of the State of Nation Address to be presented by President Ramaphosa on 8 February.