MK veterans say ANC top six have abandoned the party’s values and principles

The uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans’ Council steering committee says the ANC top six have abandoned the party’s values and principles.

"We never thought we would find ourselves in our lifetime addressing the media or the organisation. That in itself indicates that there's a lot that is not right in the organisation and therefore even the leadership that is there is no longer the leadership that speaks in one voice‚" said committee member Ka Shabangu.

He was speaking at the historic Liliesleaf farm in Rivonia‚ Johannesburg‚ on Thursday to communicate the committee’s views on the crisis engulfing the ANC.

• MK vets gather outside Luthuli HouseAbout 600 members of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) have gathered outside Luthuli House in downtown Johannesburg‚ ahead of a march by the DA against President Jacob Zuma. 

"There is no unanimity on issues that affect its members and on issues that affect the country. We therefore feel that they don't represent the same values‚" Shabangu said.

The ANC’s top leadership have been at loggerheads following President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet reshuffle last month.

ANC treasurer general Zweli Mkhize‚ secretary general Gwede Mantashe and deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa have spoken out about the manner in which Zuma informed them of the changes he intended to make to his cabinet.

• War talk from MK vetsMore than 600 "combat-ready" military veterans will be sent to Johannesburg from KwaZulu-Natal to defend President Jacob Zuma. 

The council also wants the national executive committee (NEC) and the party's provincial structures to be disbanded at a national consultative conference and interim leaders to take over until the elective conference in December.

The veterans’ council is throwing its weight behind a call by ANC stalwarts for the party to separate the consultative conference from its policy conference. However‚ the committee indicated that there are suggestions from some stalwarts that this would reach a deadlock.

The ANC NEC has already rejected the proposal‚ and has insisted that the two be held in the same week.