Put party first ahead of local elections‚ Zuma tells ANC faithful

04 June 2016 - 19:57 By Genevieve Quintal

President Jacob Zuma has called on the ANC faithful to put the party first ahead of the local government elections.Last year‚ Zuma received criticism after he told the party's KwaZulu-Natal elective congress that the ANC came before the country."The ANC is indeed a democratic movement which adheres to principles of democracy... All our members must put the interest of the ANC first and place their skills and energies at the disposal of the organisation at the elections‚" he said.Speaking at the African National Congress's Gauteng local government election manifesto launch on Saturday he told members and supporters to accept the party's list of candidates for the municipal election.This comes as ANC members protested outside Luthuli House this week claiming that councillor candidates had been imposed on them and that bribes had been paid to ensure that certain people were at the top of the lists. Some from Gauteng had even threatened to boycott the provincial manifesto launch.Zuma called on ANC members to exercise the highest levels of discipline and work hard for a "decisive victory" for the ANC."Such revolutionary discipline entails the acceptance of the outcomes of our elaborate list processes by all members of the ANC despite their internal differences."Zuma received a warm welcome when he arrived at the FNB Stadium in Soweto. He was accompanied by provincial leaders and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as he walked a lap around the stadium‚ smiling and waving. The ANC Gauteng was adamant that it would fill the 95‚000-seater stadium. This after the ANC battled to fill the 46‚000-seater Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at its national manifesto launch in April.The battle of the manifesto rallies heated up when the Economic Freedom Fighters boasted that it was the only party to fill the Orlando Stadium to capacity when it launched its manifesto in April‚ with a 40‚000-strong crowd in attendance.The official start of the rally on Saturday was delayed by three hours as the party pushed to fill the stadium. According to reports buses travelling to the stadium were delayed because of traffic.Shortly after 2pm‚ ANC Gauteng deputy provincial secretary Gwen Ramokgopa said 81‚350 people had entered through the stadium's turnstiles. Shortly before Zuma addressed the crowd‚ provincial deputy chairperson David Makhura said there were over 85‚000 attending the rally. There were still a number of empty orange chairs visible when Zuma started addressing the crowd. However‚ during his speech people started leaving the stadium.ANC provincial chairperson Paul Mashatile urged members not to engage in violence in the run up to elections.He said the province could not take support for granted and urged everyone to come out and vote on August 3.This municipal election will be a fight for the country's cities. Opposition parties have vowed to wrest power from the ANC in Johannesburg‚ Tshwane‚ Ekurhuleni and Nelson Mandela Bay.Speaking about the economy‚ Zuma said the country needed to work together to ensure that the economy grew‚ that there was investment and job creation. "It is only when the economy grows that we will see the creation of the number of jobs that we need."We urge you to work with us to create an environment for job creation. This means we should... refrain from creating an impression of anarchy in our country through the burning of infrastructure to demonstrate unhappiness with any decision taken by government‚" Zuma said.He said the ANC would continue to promote the right of people to protest but anarchy had no place in SA's democracy.The ANC's election machinery depended on the discipline of its members and volunteers."The ANC is the leader of society and cannot behave the same way as its detractors. It has to show the example of how to live in a democratic‚ peaceful‚ harmonious society."There are parties that are known for their violent behaviour and thuggery‚" Zuma said in an apparent reference to the EFF.In an interview with Al Jazeera‚ EFF leader Julius Malema reportedly said that if the ANC continued to respond violently to peaceful protest his party would "remove this government through the barrel of a gun".Zuma called on ANC members not to "stoop to their level".TMG Digital/BDlive..

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