Former president Thabo Mbeki has taken a swipe at his successor Jacob Zuma for applying double standards.

Without mentioning Zuma by name during a question-and-answer session at the ANC’s pavilion at the Rand Easter Show on Tuesday, Mbeki said it was hypocritical of Zuma to be preaching that the ANC has good news to tell.

“You’d recall for many years, we have had a different approach to this issue where you had people saying we’ve got a good story to tell. As they were busy veering off course, they were saying they’ve got a good story to tell,” said Mbeki.

In 2014, Zuma said South Africa has a good story to tell, when he was addressing masses during the commemoration of Human Rights Day in Sharpeviile.

Asked why he suddenly wanted to openly throw his weight behind the ANC, Mbeki said he was unable to convince people to vote for the governing party when he knew very well that certain individuals were involved in wrongdoing.

“It would not be honest of me to go and talk to people [on the ground] and ask them to vote for the ANC,” he said.

Mbeki said the current election manifesto poses a challenge to the ANC because the party admits that there are problems and that those matters would be dealt with.

For the first time since being recalled from the 2007 Polokwane conference, Mbeki publicly pledged to vote for the ANC in the May elections and encouraged other South Africans to do so.