Suspended African National Congress (ANC) veteran Mosiua Lekota, who is expecting to launch a breakaway party, has resigned from the ruling party, a spokesperson said on Friday.
”Yes, he has resigned. The ANC accepts his resignation and we wish him well,” said ANC spokesperson Brian Sokutu.
Lekota is hosting a national convention in Johannesburg this weekend to discuss the formation of a new political party by mainly ANC members who say they are disillusioned with their current leadership.
Former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa has thrown his weight behind the convention, which is expected to emerge with a declaration that a new political party will be formed on December 16 to challenge elections next year.
Lekota was among a string of Cabinet ministers who resigned after the national executive committee of the ANC decided to remove former president Thabo Mbeki from office in September.
Shilowa also resigned out of loyalty to Mbeki.
After resigning as defence minister, Lekota wrote an open letter to the ANC to say he was concerned that the new leaders elected at Polokwane in December were deviating from party principles.
Lekota said he was not happy with the response he received from the ANC on the letter and announced that a national convention would be held to discuss the possibility of a breakaway party.
The ANC suspended him and he was yet to appear before a disciplinary hearing when he resigned on Friday.
Sokutu said the ANC would release a more detailed statement on his resignation later on Friday.
Political tolerance
Meanwhile, ANC president Jacob Zuma on Friday called on his supporters to be tolerant and not interfere with ”any activities of other political parties”.
”We openly advocate the notion that new ideas are endemic to the development of a true developmental state,” Zuma said in a message to Daily Sun readers published on Friday.
”We therefore call for political tolerance from the members and supporters of the ANC at all times and call for no interference with any activities of other political parties and formations.
”The ANC will regard any actions which bring the organisation into disrepute as acts of ill-discipline and to be un-ANC in character,” said Zuma.
He said a multiparty democracy accommodated the ”formation of new parties and South Africa is no exception”.
”The Constitution of the ANC enjoins all its members to be tolerant of the views of others.”
Zuma said the Constitution proclaimed the freedoms of speech and association.
”The ANC firmly believes that all South Africans must be able to express their views openly without hindrance or fear of intimidation,” said Zuma.
”This is the basic right advocated in the Freedom Charter and the Bill of Rights enshrined in our Constitution.” — Sapa