By Zukile Majova
Former president Jacob Zuma has finally opened the door for possible coalition talks with the ANC.
Since the 29 May elections, different groups of ANC leaders have been knocking on Umkhonto Wesizwe’s door, only to be told the party will not work with the “ANC of Ramaphosa”.
The Zuma party has long said it will not work with the ANC as long as Cyril Ramaphosa is its president.
But on Thursday night, as the ANC was concluding its national executive committee meeting, the MK said it had met the ANC and agreed to have official talks in a matter of days.
“The MK Party confirms that engagements with the African National Congress have indeed taken place regarding the coalition discussions.
“A meeting is expected to take place soon, where the MK party will hear the views presented with an open mind while firmly prioritising the inspirations and aspirations of the South African majority and blacks in particular,” it said.
Earlier, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said: “It’s been very difficult to engage with the MK party. We’ve tried to reach out, but we’ve drawn blanks. It depends on the outcome of this meeting whether we’ll still meet with them. We’ve said we’re open to talking to everybody, including the MK party.”
He said no one except Zuma had the authority to communicate the MK party position.
“When we talk to the MK party, they say they’re waiting for uBaba (Zuma), but he can’t be found. We’ve tried to reach out. If you journalists can help in locating Jacob Zuma, that would be helpful.”
The MK party won almost 46% of the votes in KwaZulu-Natal and over 14% of the national vote share.
With 58 members of Parliament, the ANC sees the MK party as a potentially formidable ally, especially in KZN and Gauteng, where the ANC has 36.4% of the votes.
The MK party has 10.6% of the votes in Gauteng, while the EFF has 12.4%; meaning the ANC could govern Gauteng without forming a coalition with the DA.
MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said the party’s main interest in any coalition talks was to advance the interests of the “black majority who are poor, unemployed, homeless and landless against the interests of white monopoly capital and markets”.
“Any coalition has to focus on eradicating the systems that preserve and support the prolonged political subjugation and economic enslavement of our people.”
Pictured above: Jacob Zuma is now ready to talk to the ANC.
Source: X
