Former ANC national chair Baleka Mbete says she has nothing to talk to ex-president Jacob Zuma about since he formed the MK Party. This is despite Mbete historically having close ties with him.
Mbete said she was never friends with Zuma — they were merely comrades in the same party.
It was during Mbete’s time as the speaker of the National Assembly that Zuma survived countless motions of no confidence and dodged the bullet on the Nkandla scandal.
Asked if she had reached out to Zuma about his decision to form the MK Party, Mbete said they were not that close.
“Why have I not engaged with him? We are not friends, we were comrades who worked together at a particular time. I have nothing to engage with him on.”
She said she did not protect Zuma when she was the speaker but was merely implementing the rules that guided the house.
“[I did not protect Zuma] because he was a person I worked with in my political party or that he was perhaps an ANC person. It was on the basis of the house rules that I was implementing every decision.”
Asked if she had any regrets about her tenure as speaker during which Zuma enjoyed support and protection, Mbete simply said: “I have no regrets.”
Zuma’s MK Party is giving the ANC headaches, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, and is believed to be eating into the ANC's support.
The ANC has deployed its former heavyweight leaders to counter Zuma and other opposition parties that are seeking to attract disillusioned ANC supporters.
Mbete has dismissed the notion that the plethora of former party leaders coming out to campaign was a sign of panic by the governing party.
Mbete, who was campaigning for the ANC in Palm Ridge, Ekurhuleni, is one of dozens of the party’s senior leaders who have added to the chorus that the ANC deserves another chance.
As the May 29 poll approaches, the ANC has deployed the likes of former president Thabo Mbeki, former deputy presidents David Mabuza and Kgalema Motlanthe, Mbete, former Gauteng premier Tokyo Sexwale and others who have been on the ground canvassing votes for the ANC.
Thirty years is not a long time. Yes, it’s a lot, but not to the extent that everything is expected to be perfect
— Baleka Mbete, former ANC national chair
These leaders have been criss-crossing Gauteng with Mbeki joining the ANC national executive committee members in KwaZulu-Natal last week.
The two provinces are believed to be at the greatest risk of slipping from the ANC's grasp, hence the party's decision to place special focus on them.
Pollsters have predicted that the ANC will dip below 50% and may need a coalition arrangement to continue governing.
Others believe the party may even struggle to get 40% of the votes.
But Mbete says the 'all hands on deck' approach is not a sign of panic.
“We are not scared and shaking, we are simply doing our job,” said Mbete. “It is a time when we are all focused on reminding people ... to give this party, that is a leader of society, a mandate to continue the good work it started 30 years ago.”
She told a community meeting in Palm Ridge that shouting that the ANC will emerge victorious in two weeks was not sloganeering.
“Comrades, this is not just a slogan. On May 29 the ANC will win overwhelmingly. This is a promise we are making ,” she said.
Mbete said her engagements with South Africans during her door-to-door campaign continue to reveal that people were happy with the ANC and its government.
“People trust the movement, people trust the government, they know we are not done. Thirty years is not a long time. Yes, it’s a lot, but not to the extent that everything is expected to be perfect. You must look at other countries. What we have achieved as the ANC in 30 years, other countries that are supposed to be democratic societies have not even achieved half of what we have,” she said.
She said the ANC has owned up to mistakes committed by the party and its leaders in the past 30 years.
But she urged that the baby must not be thrown out with the bath water and that people must recognise the good that has been achieved since the advent of democracy.
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