By Celani Sikhakhane
The ANC’s deputy secretary-general, Nomvula Mokonyane, said the party joined the government of national unity (GNU) to avoid sitting on the opposition benches in parliament.
Mokonyane was speaking in Durban, where she visited the ANC’s provincial executive committee and their eThekwini regional offices to discuss the party’s problems after their big loss in the 29 May general elections.
She spent the weekend with KZN structures to discuss the election losses and how to avoid them in the future.
Mokonyane told the media that becoming an opposition party was not an option for the ANC.
Her comments come after the ANC faced strong criticism from their alliance partners, who claim they sold out by joining the GNU with the DA.
“We felt that with all the options available, we could not allow ourselves to sit on the opposition benches. We needed to find a better way to create stability and help South Africa,” said Mokonyane.
Her visit followed reports that the party’s eThekwini regional and provincial leadership might be disbanded due to their poor performance in the election, which led to the ANC losing KwaZulu-Natal, a province they won in 2004 under then-premier Sbu Ndebele and then-president Thabo Mbeki.
Mokonyane dismissed those reports as gossip.
“The NEC [national executive committee] decided to visit provinces to evaluate our election performance. We are building the ANC and energising our structures.
“Each ANC branch must be a solution provider to the challenges and problems faced by communities,” Mokonyane said.
Pictured above: ANC deputy secretary general Nomvula Mokonyane with the eThekwini regional leadership.
Source: X
