Transport minister Fikile Mbalula took a veiled swipe at the ANC’s so-called “RET faction” and the EFF on Monday about their opposition to what they described as “white monopoly capital” or big business.

Mbalula believes it is misguided to hope to transform the economy without the involvement of big business.

His comments come amid a long-standing political debate that reached boiling point within the ANC in mid-2017 at its national policy conference at Nasrec.

At the time, the party was spilt into two, with the radical economic transformation (RET) grouping insisting “white monopoly capital” was holding the country back and must be dismantled to transform the economy.

On the opposing side were the “New Dawn” protagonists, who argued that monopoly capital in the country as it stands has no colour and is not an enemy of the party’s “national democratic revolution”.

The EFF has also been a steadfast opponent of “white monopoly capital” and a leading advocate for a socialist state in SA.

Mbalula, speaking in Centurion during a briefing on progress made in fixing the Road Accident Fund (RAF), said the anti-white monopoly capital narrative was a populist posture by “pseudo-socialists” who are out of touch with reality.

“There are others who throw slogans about 'white monopoly capital', but you cannot transform the economy without capital and the private sector,” charged Mbalula.

“The private sector has got to come to the party in the transformation of this economy.

“It is a political debate that ensues, sometimes on an ideological basis, depending on where you stand. There are pseudo-socialists in our country who think socialism will be realised overnight at a dinner table. That is not the case.

“We have got to dig deep and do a lot of things.”

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