'There is no betrayal in the ANC,' says Ramaphosa after being dumped by some branches at elective conference

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa says he does not feel betrayed by some branches who dumped him at the party’s 55th national conference last month.

“There is no betrayal in the ANC. What we went through was the voices of the branches. This was a conference of the branches,” said Ramaphosa.

Flanked by the newly elected ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and second deputy secretary-general Maropene Ramokgopa, he was addressing the media after laying a wreath on the gravesite of late ANC president Zaccheus Mahabane at the Seeisoville Cemetery in Kroonstad in the Free State.

The ceremony is part of a build up to the ANC 111th birthday celebrations on Sunday. This was Ramaphosa's first public engagement since being re-elected for a second term as party president. 

TimesLIVE previously reported that Limpopo's Stan Mathabatha and his deputy Florence Radzilani were expected to come under heavy fire over their failed attempt to ditch Ramaphosa for Zweli Mkhize at the eleventh hour.

Ultimately, Ramaphosa said it was the basic units of the ANC that spoke and expressed their general views of the membership of the party.

“Those who might have wanted to machinate certain outcomes, in the end they saw how the branches and membership of the ANC spoke.”

At the end of the day, Ramaphosa said, “there are no betrayals. There are no funny things, it’s just a clear mandate that has been given to the elected leadership and we expect everyone in the ANC to rally behind the 80 members who have been elected, including the top seven officials.”

He said he has confidence that the new leadership is going to take the country “to greater heights. There is no other place for the ANC, except to go higher and higher.”

Speaking during the wreath-laying ceremony, Ramaphosa described the newly elected leaders as “merchants of hope”.

“We are the leadership that is going to instil hope in the hearts and the minds of our people because that is what the ANC is all about. The ANC must bring hope as we renew ourselves. We will be spreading the hope around for better things that the ANC needs to do and lead our nation in.”

He said the party needs to transform the nation and bring a better life to its citizens.

“I do believe that the leadership that has been elected has the wherewithal, energy and many of them are young and women. So we are well-armed with wisdom and energy to take the struggle of our people to a higher level.”

Ramaphosa will this afternoon lay a wreath at the gravesite of former ANC president James Sebe Moroka in Mangaung.

TimesLIVE