The media is on a campaign to smear the names of ANC members during election time, the party’s secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni, on Sunday.
“Only at election time, the media digs up old stories about members … It’s media propaganda.”
He urged residents in the Ekurhuleni ward not to be taken in by the stories being reported in the media.
He told voters it was 31 days before the local government election and reminded them of all the good work the ANC had accomplished in South Africa’s 17 years as a democracy.
He said it was the ANC that had made the drastic changes in the country and it was them who gave homes and electricity to the poor.
“Even rural areas have electricity in rondavels.”
He vowed that job creation for the unemployed was a priority for the ANC government, as poverty was a reality.
“Other candidates must know that date [May 18] is to drive the program of the ANC. We have been driving it for 17 years,” said Mantashe.
“It’s not an employment date [for opposition candidates], it’s a deployment date,” he said to the loud cheers of the crowd.
He said the party was committed to the people.
“The ANC is unlike other parties. Other parties go into the election for the votes. The ANC goes for people to get mandated to serve the masses.”
He urged cadres not to be angered by the insults that were thrown at them but should rather use it. “Take insults as a message. In the ANC, there is always a tomorrow. If there was no tomorrow, there would be no ANC.”
Mantashe, dressed warmly in a suit, was addressing about 500 people in rainy weather at a rally in the Sinaba stadium.
ANC veteran Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, wearing a bright yellow hat, greeted residents and addressed them in isiZulu.
People carrying ANC regalia braved the cold, damp conditions and danced and sang in the stands. Vuvuzelas were also being blown.
The rally is part of the party’s vote gathering campaign ahead of the local government elections on May 18. — Sapa