SA is politically stable: Mantashe

28 September 2016 - 09:15 By BIANCA CAPAZORIO

The ANC's losses in the local government elections were not due to service delivery issues but a "trust deficit" which should be addressed by "any changes" in the party's leadership at next year's elective conference, said the party's secretary-general Gwede Mantashe. He was speaking at the Big Five investors' conference in Cape Town where he tackled issues that are having an effect on investor confidence, such as the #FeesMustFall protests, last year's so-called Nene-gate, calls by Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane for an inquiry into the banking sector, and the public spats between Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and the Hawks.He said the party had scored some "own goals" which had created a "trust deficit" seen at the polls.Attempting to allay investor fears, Mantashe said South Africa was "politically stable" as evidenced by the fact that there had been no wars or court challenges to the election results.Pointing to Nenegate, he said the change had "destroyed value totally and the rand collapsed completely"."On day three, as leaders of the ANC, we went to the president and said: 'Please, swap him with Pravin' and luckily for us, he agreed," Mantashe said."But nobody acknowledges how decisive that intervention was."Mantashe said Gordhan and the Hawks had been told to "stop your public spats" which were affecting investor confidence.On the issue of the student protests Mantashe said those who could afford to pay, should...

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