By Zukile Majova
Political Editor
It was simply good riddance to bad rubbish. A blessing in disguise.
That’s how the ANC describes the departure of Jacob Zuma from its ranks to the Umkhonto Wesizwe party.
Zuma led the destruction of state-owned companies and the general weakening of the capacity of the government to deal with criminality, white-collar crime and state capture.
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula said Zuma has been trying to implode the party since he was replaced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2017.
After losing power, Zuma led a rebel group called the Radical Economic Transformation forces.
The group was designed to undermine Ramaphosa’s efforts to root out corruption in the party and the state.
Mbalula said Zuma’s departure and the formation of the MK party have helped the ANC eliminate corrupt members.
“The people who have left are well-known culprits who were in any way, on their way out.
“They were disgruntled, they called themselves RET forces and they have left with Zuma.
“ANC members and leaders are still with the ANC,” Mbalula told a press conference on Monday.
Mbalula said: “Zuma has long left the ANC when he was defeated at Nasrec. He decided to implode the ANC from within by creating political parties and encouraging them.
“Not only in this election. Even in the last election, some of those political parties are still there in the terrain.”
The ANC understands Zuma’s strategy as aiming to bring the ANC below 50% of the national vote while building a kingmaker party to exploit a possible election deadlock.
“In the last election, he [Zuma] said we would get 43%. We did not, we got 57%.
“In this election, they are hoping that we will drop below 50% and then they will dictate terms in terms of what must happen in the country.
“So that’s what Jacob Zuma is all about,” said Mbalula.
Pictured above: Fikile Mbalula.
Source: X
