Fikile Mbalula rallies for Ramaphosa's second term during Limpopo campaign stop
Image: Bloomberg
ANC leaders who spoke during the Letsema campaign launch in Limpopo on Saturday used the podium to reaffirm their support for current ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa’s second term.
Addressing a crowd of ANC members at the Nkowankowa stadium, ANC’s head of elections Fikile Mbalula vowed that they would rally behind Ramaphosa.
Mbalula said previous party heads like former presidents Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki went through their own problems but the ANC showed them support.
“We will never leave our president to the sharks. We must defend him. Others served their two terms, why can’t he be afforded the same opportunity? If you don’t want him you can wait until the conference in December,” he said. The crowd responded with loud cheers and applause.
ANC provincial chairman and Limpopo premier Stanley Mathabatha warned against contesting the presidency saying it would sow more division.
“We have a president what more do you want? On the 8th of January when we said we would support President Ramaphosa for second term some people said we jumping the gun. What we were saying as the people of Limpopo we will support unity,” Mathabatha said.
Ramaphosa said only a united ANC can take the country forward and solve its problems, adding that Letsema was about renewing the ANC and strengthening party branches ahead of the 2024 national elections.
“We must revitalise the ANC. We must make the ANC loved by the people once again. We are uniting ourselves,” he said.
He said the work that has been done in Limpopo to revive unity in the province was phenomenal. “We want our branches to be alive all the time and get involved in the lives of our people,” Ramaphosa said.
The party is set to host its 55th national conference in December with about 4000 delegates expected to attend.
Before addressing members at the stadium Ramaphosa had visited a number of community facilities in the area including Kubayi Crèche, the local taxi rank, an old age home, and the traditional council.
The Letsema campaign was launched in April in Mangaung, Free State with the aim of establishing structures to tackle socioeconomic issues.
Ramaphosa’s visit happened just a day after opposition parties marched to demand that South Africa’s acting public protector to release the report on the Phala Phala farm saga.
In recent months Phala Phala issue along with the country’s struggling economy and the ANC’s internal battles have placed more pressure on Ramaphosa’s presidency with more people calling for his removal.
mahopoz@sowetan.co.za