Mashatile told delegates: “We are not in a good space. The past few months we have seen very serious challenges in our country, even before Covid-19, slow economic growth and joblessness have been a challenge.
“We need economic recovery — and that cannot happen if you have an energy crisis that results in load-shedding.
“Sometimes in South Africa there are problems that you do not understand why they happen at the time they are happening. We have load-shedding, and then Matla power station will be on fire? That's sabotage!”
eNCA reported on Wednesday that a unit at the Matla station had caught fire, possibly caused by a fuel oil leak.
“My belief is that with the resignation of [Eskom CEO Andre] De Ruyter, [this] is the beginning of renewal,” said Mashatile.
Much needed to be done within the party, he added. “As we go to this conference, we can have our differences, perhaps even in who we want to lead — but those are just our differences.
“But let us not forget our unifying vision: building a strong ANC that will be able to address the challenges that our people are facing.”
Gauteng ANC 'firmly' behind Paul Mashatile
Image: Freddy Mavunda/Business Day
The ANC in Gauteng has expressed overwhelming support for deputy presidential hopeful Paul Mashatile.
Gauteng chairperson Panyaza Lesufi said the province supported the names that come from branches as guided by the provincial executive committee (PEC) pronouncement. “However, we remain firm on the name of comrade Paul Mashatile,” Lesufi said.
A delegate told TimesLIVE the province would not pronounce on its presidential candidate, but was unwavering on the position of Mashatile as deputy president and Nomvula Mokonyane as deputy secretary-general.
Another delegate said the conversations swayed towards Zweli Mkhize for the position of president, alongside Mashatile and Mokonyane in the other roles.
Mashatile was invited to deliver a closing address at the special sitting of the provincial general council on Wednesday, where he told delegates they would be approaching the ANC elective conference at the weekend in the spirit of “unity and renewal”.
“Without unity we can't renew the ANC. We must unite, first, ourselves,” he said.
WATCH | 'It's a difficult job': outgoing ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile
Mashatile told delegates: “We are not in a good space. The past few months we have seen very serious challenges in our country, even before Covid-19, slow economic growth and joblessness have been a challenge.
“We need economic recovery — and that cannot happen if you have an energy crisis that results in load-shedding.
“Sometimes in South Africa there are problems that you do not understand why they happen at the time they are happening. We have load-shedding, and then Matla power station will be on fire? That's sabotage!”
eNCA reported on Wednesday that a unit at the Matla station had caught fire, possibly caused by a fuel oil leak.
“My belief is that with the resignation of [Eskom CEO Andre] De Ruyter, [this] is the beginning of renewal,” said Mashatile.
Much needed to be done within the party, he added. “As we go to this conference, we can have our differences, perhaps even in who we want to lead — but those are just our differences.
“But let us not forget our unifying vision: building a strong ANC that will be able to address the challenges that our people are facing.”
PODCAST | Mashatile talks positions, SOEs, Phala Phala, former presidents
TimesLIVE
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