ANC must be united to win local elections‚ says Zuma

President Jacob Zuma told delegates at the Gauteng African National Congress' (ANC) Provincial General Council (PGC) that they had to be united to win the local government elections.

Zuma was addressing delegates on the first day of the council in Pretoria on Friday.

He also said it was important that the party won Gauteng with a big majority because it could not be defeated at its headquarters.

“The ANC needs to be united and focused‚” said Zuma.

The province has been critical of Zuma following the Constitutional Court's finding that he had violated his oath of office. Gauteng had called for him to “do the right thing".

Freedom and power‚ that's what the ANC needed to focus on as it geared up for the August 3 local government elections‚ said the president.

He also said the party needed to have a better understanding of what freedom was in order to achieve it completely.

Fights among themselves were an indication that their understanding of freedom was limited‚ he said.

He said freedom came with power and it was important that the ANC members understood what true power was.

“The elections that we are talking about … are an instrument for power. If you don't understand power you will lose it‚” he said.

Zuma said having political power would help in getting economic and security power.

“If you don't have economic power those with the economic power will run you‚” he said.

Delegates began shouting “state capture” but Zuma said he was not referring to that and the term was wrong.

He said those who used the term were misleading people because in order for a state to be captured‚ the executive‚ judiciary and legislative arms of government had to be captured.

The judiciary‚ said Zuma‚ was friendly to the opposition. “Does that mean the opposition has captured the judiciary?”

He said what happened after he dismissed Nhlanhla Nene from his position as finance minister and replaced him with David (Des) van Rooyen last year‚ showed where real power was.

“There was a demand to reverse the decision from the real powers that be and we had to reverse the decision. I looked this way and that way and I found no one around me‚” he said.

The PGC will end on Sunday and will discuss the party's election campaign‚ among other issues.

- TMG Digital/BDlive