ANC leaders 'preoccupied' with positions while country is in crisis — Mbeki

Former president Thabo Mbeki has lamented the ANC leadership being too “preoccupied” with contesting for positions while the country sinks deeper into crisis.

According to Mbeki, instead of dealing with issues of service delivery that are crippling the country and its economy, ANC leaders are concerned about discussing who leads the party.

This happens at the detriment of ordinary South Africans who could not care less which ANC leader is in charge but are looking to the party to deliver basic services and create jobs.

These are some of the things the party would have to rid itself of if it was to unite and renew itself, he said.

Mbeki was speaking on the third day of his unity and renewal engagements with the ANC in the Free State. The party had invited Mbeki to help with a project it has undertaken to renew itself.

Discussing positions at least ten months before the party goes to its elective conference was a trap, Mbeki said on Saturday.

“I heard one of the colleagues say that he went to a meeting in Matjhabeng and people were saying second term for comrade [President Cyril] Ramaphosa, provincial chairperson should be Mxolisi Dukwana. I was saying that’s a trap,” Mbeki said.

“The reason it’s a trap is because if we take that route then we will be preoccupied with this question, ‘who is supporting me?’ and canvass and completely forget about this urgent national task, preoccupied with this question, ‘I want to be a leader’. Time consuming, absorbing all your energy. In the meantime we are talking about all these national challenges.”

Mbeki also took issue with those, including ANC Limpopo chairperson Stan Mathabatha, who called for Ramaphosa to secure a second term as president.

“I don’t know if people heard what I was saying because you still hear these voices, even at the January 8 rally in Limpopo, somebody stands up in a meeting and says, ‘long live second term for President Cyril Ramaphosa’, what is that?” he said.

The ANC has to “behave itself” and solve the problems confronting the party instead of focusing on leadership contestations.

“The ordinary masses of the people are not interested in who is president of the ANC but they are interested in an ANC which takes care of the matter of service delivery, takes care of that road in Mangaung which is a road of potholes.

“So we can’t have the leadership of the ANC which allows itself to be misled. We are in February, why should people be campaigning for positions in February? Instead of attending to the matters that are important for the nation,” he said.

While all of these leadership pronouncements played themselves out, the country was sinking deeper into a crisis.

“We have got a country in deep crisis. The economy is in deep trouble and has been in deep trouble for many years, that’s why you see these continuously increasing numbers of unemployment,” Mbeki said.

“It’s in crisis if you look at the condition of the state-owned enterprises which are very vital for the functioning of this country not only just the economy. The state is the biggest producer of electricity, and if we don’t produce electricity democratic SA dies.”