African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma said ”angry people” would not ”misdirect” the ruling party from its mission to improve lives, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Tuesday.
”I don’t think we should worry about angry people. They are likely to take your time, your effort [and] misdirect it,” Zuma told an ANC Women’s League function at Welkom in the Free State on Monday evening.
”There’s a task to better the lives of our people. There is a task to deal with the issues.”
He dismissed accusations by suspended former ANC chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota that the ANC was diverting from its policies.
Lekota, who is expected to launch a breakaway party next month alongside former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa, has repeatedly criticised the ANC’s new leaders elected at Polokwane last December.
Lekota said the new leaders were diverting from the principle of equality before the law, referring to fraud and corruption charges that had been brought against Zuma, who has since won a court bid to declare his prosecution invalid.
”One of its characteristics is clarity of the ANC … on its policies, in its programmes. It is consistent in its policies, cultures and traditions,” said Zuma.
Political tolerance
Meanwhile, Shilowa has called for political tolerance in the run-up for to the formation of the new political party.
All parties should be free to campaign across the country, he said on Monday. ”We should be able to shun and frown on those who create no-go areas.”
Addressing an open debate at the University of Johannesburg on the formation of the breakaway party, Shilowa said democracy entailed that parties had the right to go to the public and explain who they were.
”We have the right to go to the marketplace and share ideas … say who we are and this is what we stand for,” Shilowa said.
Referring to membership of various parties, Shilowa said large numbers did not necessarily mean a party would win the majority vote.
”It’s not the membership you have that ensures a win, it’s the message, consistency and hope. No amount of insults will stop us,” he said.
Commenting on the new party’s convention slated for November 1, Shilowa said delegates would deliberate on, among other issues, whether the country’s electoral process was still adequate.
”Is there any merit to change the electoral process. Should the president, premiers, mayors be directly elected by the electorate,” he asked..
Shilowa said South Africans had matured enough to have a direct say as to who their leaders should be.
He said the convention would be open to all South Africans.
”You cannot choose which South Africans you want to dialogue with … Helen Zille, for example, will be allowed to come. You will not read any headline that says Zille is barred from the convention,” Shilowa said. — Sapa