African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma used his election campaign in Limpopo this week to down play the crisis engulfing the organisation, repeating to anyone who cared to listen that his party will rule until Jesus Christ returns.
Amid fears that the ANC is slowly losing control in one of its traditional strongholds Zuma used his campaign to send a strong message to his detractors and the soon-to-be-launched splinter party, the Congress of the People (Cope), that the ANC still commands support in the poverty-stricken province.
He labelled those resigning from the ANC to join Cope, which is led by former Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota as “sell-outs and dangerous snakes”.
Accompanied by senior party leaders, including ANC treasurer Mathews Phosa, ANC provincial chairman in Limpopo Cassel Mathale, former Limpopo premier Ngoako Ramathlodi and former Gauteng Premier Mathole Motshekga, the ANC president was in full election campaign mode.
Zuma’s first stop was at Motlhotlo village, near Mokopane, where community members complained about the forced removals by Anglo Platinum, which is mining in the area, and accused the company of reneging on promises of compensation.
Community members accused ANC councillors of colluding with Anglo Platinum and told Zuma that unless the problem was resolved they would not vote for the ANC. Zuma promised he would ask Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica to intervene.
Throughout his two-day tour of the province, Zuma boasted of the ANC’s achievements in the past 14 years, claiming it was the only party that cared about the plight of the poor.
He promised that an incoming administration under his leadership would increase pensioners’ monthly grants and reduce levels of poverty and unemployment.
Although the ANC’s alliance partners have blamed its macro-economic policies for the high level of unemployment, Zuma assured business leaders at a gala dinner on Tuesday that his party has no intention of changing its economic strategy.
Limpopo businessman Peter Verveen said that although Zuma’s assurances were important, he had expected him to give the business community some clarity about the schism within the ANC.
“I would have liked him to say how the breakaway will impact on business… The decision [to fire former president Thabo Mbeki] attracted a lot of reaction from all sectors of society and caused a huge amount of uncertainty. We wanted him to reassure us on those uncertainties. We wanted more clarity about his visit to the province. How sure are we that the ANC will be able to rule us tomorrow? This must be part of the campaign,” said Verveen, adding that he was unhappy that the ANC had not asked Limpopo Premier Sello Moloto to address the gala dinner.
“What is disturbing for me is that the premier did not speak. It would have been proper that he was afforded an opportunity to speak as the first citizen of the province. The premier is still a member of the ANC. The fact that he did not speak shows that the ANC has not resolved the divisions within the party,” said Verveen.
Moloto fell out of favour with Zuma after he supported Mbeki’s bid for re-election as ANC president last year.
The premier cut a lonely figure at a rally at the University of Limpopo, where Zuma addressed thousands of students. He walked away from the podium after Zuma started singing his trademark song, Umshini Wami, while Zuma’s lieutenants danced along.