- ANC leaders are angry after Cyril Ramaphosa praised the DA’s governance and said ANC municipalities are falling behind.
- Fikile Mbalula tried to calm members but pressure forced Ramaphosa into a public backtrack on live television.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is fighting for survival after angering his own party by praising the Democratic Alliance.
He told more than 4,000 ANC councillors that DA municipalities like Cape Town were better run, and that the ANC should follow their example.
“What’s wrong with seeing what Cape Town or Stellenbosch is doing?” he said. “It hurts me when I see our municipalities going backwards.”
The comments made many angry inside the ANC. Some members close to him said he should step aside, with rumours spreading that he may quit after the G20 summit in November.
One young ANC leader was blunt: “We are really growing tired of these old men – they must all just go,” Sunday Times reported.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula tried to calm the anger by sending National Executive Committee members on media tours. But when that failed, Ramaphosa was forced into a live SABC interview to defend himself.
On air, he backtracked, saying DA clean audits did not prove better services. “From a compliance point of view, they meet the mark,” he said. “But from a transformation point of view, they are not really meeting the mark.”
He argued ANC municipalities also meet compliance standards and accused the Western Cape government of sometimes sending money back to the Treasury.
Ramaphosa said he was only repeating Oliver Tambo’s old advice that leaders must learn even from their enemies.
But many in the ANC did not believe him. One minister told Sunday Times: “You ask yourself why he wants to lead a party he doesn’t believe in… it’s a political blunder we may not survive.”
Meanwhile, DA leaders are celebrating, saying Ramaphosa has handed them a “slam-dunk” campaign slogan.
Pictured above: Cyril Ramaphosa.
Image source: File
