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ANC NEC member Bheki Cele says that only witchcraft can save the ANC from losing power in 2019 if it does not make drastic changes.
Addressing branches in Umlazi on Sunday, Cele said that South Africans had fired a warning shot at the ruling party, despite some members denying the ANC’s loss at the polls during last year’s local government elections.
“The problem I have is that there are those who say we did not lose elections. We lost Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay. By the way we did lose Ekurhuleni; we lost it because we are in coalition with the AIC there. That means you are not going to run the programme of the national democratic revolution, you must water it down to satisfy other people. You must get permission to run the programme of the ANC if you are in coalition, so we did in fact lose it,” he said to murmurs of agreement.
The deputy minister said that so long as some within the ANC acted as if the party belonged to them, voters would abandon ship.
“South Africans are looking at the things we do and say. It is important that we are not tainted, we must be a good reflection of the ANC. People must have reason to vote for the ANC. And they have warned us.
“They say by not running these three metros – and Cape Town by the way – we have lost 77% of the budget. The budget is what allows for the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) programme. Without the budget you can’t implement the NDR. We can’t build houses, can’t fix roads, we can’t create jobs because we have surrendered the tools of running the NDR.”
Cele called for an end to arrogance within the party that continued to cost it.
“We moved from 62% to 54%, we lost 8% and people want to come and say we did not lose elections. We will prove that we are really good with witchcraft if we win in 2019, if we do not change our ways now.”
Part and parcel of that change, he said, would come from the election of new leadership when the ANC goes to its national elective conference in December this year, where branches of the ANC will elect President Jacob Zuma’s successor.
So far at least six people have thrown their hats in the ring for the top job. The front runners are former African Union chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa.
Others who are vying for the presidency include Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe, Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete and treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize.
