African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa has responded to comments made by former President Thabo Mbeki regarding the problems facing the country. He was addressing the party’s KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Conference in Durban.
Last week, addressing the memorial for the late ANC Deputy Secretary General Jessie Duarte, Mbeki lambasted the leadership for not having a plan to resolve the crises facing the country.
Mbeki says he fears corruption could lead to South Africa’s own Arab Spring.
“There is no national plan to these challenges of poverty, unemployment, inequality,” says Mbeki.
“We must address local government. You’ve seen all of these reports from the Auditor General that always come out and point a finger at the councils, particularly which are led by the ANC. What message are we communicating to these masses? One of my fears is that one of these days, we’re going to have our own version of the Arab Spring,” says Mbeki..
Video: Mbeki says the ANC, as a revolutionary organisation, only exists to serve the needs of South Africans
Mbeki’s comment prompted this response from Ramaphosa.
“While we all agree that our overriding objectives are to grow the economy, create jobs, and reduce poverty and inequality, and we must remember that the problem and challenge of jobs did not start yesterday. It did not start two years ago. We have lived with this problem for a number of years and we’ve been involved, amongst the social partners on finding or creating steps that we need to take to address all these challenges through a social compact.”
ANC KZN Elective Conference | ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses delegates:
