ANC election head and secretary-general hopeful Fikile Mbalula has condemned attacks against the party's president Cyril Ramaphosa by some members before the party's 55th national elective conference.
Mbalula, speaking at the party's Letsema campaign in North West, took a swipe at “excited” party members who are using the elective conference to attack Ramaphosa.
The elective conference will take place from December 16-20.
“I know we are in the mood of the national conference, but we must understand that the national conference is not the first and it won't be the last. The ANC will live beyond December 16 to 20 and beyond that. The ANC will live and become even a stronger organisation,” said Mbalula.
He called for unity within the party, saying members are allowed to challenge the president.
“If there are comrades who feel that they can challenge the president, they are allowed but we shouldn’t go to war about it,” said Mbalula.
“There are those who say he must be isolated. How do you isolate your president? Some of us within the organisation have attacked our president. You don’t do that. Even our worst opponents don’t do it.”
'ANC will live beyond December': Mbalula condemns members using conference to attack Ramaphosa
Image: File/ Supplied
ANC election head and secretary-general hopeful Fikile Mbalula has condemned attacks against the party's president Cyril Ramaphosa by some members before the party's 55th national elective conference.
Mbalula, speaking at the party's Letsema campaign in North West, took a swipe at “excited” party members who are using the elective conference to attack Ramaphosa.
The elective conference will take place from December 16-20.
“I know we are in the mood of the national conference, but we must understand that the national conference is not the first and it won't be the last. The ANC will live beyond December 16 to 20 and beyond that. The ANC will live and become even a stronger organisation,” said Mbalula.
He called for unity within the party, saying members are allowed to challenge the president.
“If there are comrades who feel that they can challenge the president, they are allowed but we shouldn’t go to war about it,” said Mbalula.
“There are those who say he must be isolated. How do you isolate your president? Some of us within the organisation have attacked our president. You don’t do that. Even our worst opponents don’t do it.”
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Mbalula also hit back at claims he was “singing for supper” after throwing his weight behind Ramaphosa's second term bid.
“I don't do that because the president has always been available,” he said.
“We are building the organisation and other comrades may not be happy about the outcome, but these conferences come and go, sometimes with scares, but we live beyond conferences.”
Mbalula previously said the ANC should not apologise for defending Ramaphosa when he is under attack.
“President Matamela is our president. We must not apologise for defending him when he is under attack. If you attack Matamela as president of the ANC you are destroying the party.
“We defended Nelson Mandela, we defended Thabo Mbeki, we defended Jacob Zuma and we will defend Matamela as our president. If branches say he must continue, there is nothing wrong because all of them got their second terms,” Mbalula said.
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