Minister of Tourism and African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee member, Lindiwe Sisulu, reveals how she was left dangling alone when she carried out the 2017 ANC Conference resolution to downgrade the Israeli Embassy to a liaison office.
She adds that she felt very punished by the Jewish community and the ANC as no one stood up to say that it was their party’s resolution.
“I expected him to come to my rescue. It was a public matter everybody could see, and I would have expected that he would say: ‘Look, this is my Minister and I am going to protect the resolutions of government, of the NEC and conference’. I was left dangling alone.”
Sisulu: The President kept quiet
Mbeje: But as someone who is serving there and was being attacked, do you say Mr President I am under pressure, say something?
Sisulu:….uh, do I need to tell you…. You’re sitting down?”
My full interview with Tourism minister and ANC NEC member @LindiweSisuluSA is at 18:00 on SABCNEWS channel 404. #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/WlzKHPJrVT
— mzwandile mbeje (@mzwaimbeje) October 30, 2022
Meanwhile, Sisulu is of the view that Eskom is a “real problem” as the country is under the kind of load shedding that it has never experienced before.
Sisulu admits the power utility’s infrastructure is failing but is unaware of whose to blame.
“Well I don’t know if, in my position, I should be blaming anybody but I do agree that infrastructure is collapsing, everybody is concerned – I don’t know if the people who are there listening to us will take any of the things that we are saying because we have always convinced them we are looking into it,” says Sisulu.
“Eskom is a real problem. We are under the kind of load shedding we have never experienced before. We could go on and on but it would be like self-flagellation, hitting myself on my back for something that we should have done but I think that I can say that there are ways in which we can solve these matters,” she adds.
Step-aside resolution
The ANC NEC Member says that the step-aside resolution of the political party was taken opportunistically and not seen all the way through to its end.
The resolution dictates that those who face corruption or criminal charges should step aside voluntarily, but Sisulu has the following to say. “My view on it is that when we put the step aside resolution, I do not think we had seen it through to its end. I don’t think we had paid as much attention to it as we should have. Because we are now pre-judging a case that is before the courts and sentencing somebody for what we think is a wrongdoing and it only applies to certain people.”
