MK Committee calls on ANC to urgently ‘clean house’
The Umkhonto we Sizwe National Council Steering Committee has called on the African National Congress (ANC) to resolve the divisions currently ravaging the party by scheduling a national consultative conference without delay.
President Jacob Zuma’s controversial cabinet reshuffle and subsequent downgrades by rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Fitch have laid bare the divisions in the ruling party.
The council’s General Sphiwe Nyanda says the ANC is in crisis.
“Right now the movement is at a crisis and only an urgent national consultative conference can arrest the further downward spiral of the ANC. We enjoin the elected leadership of the ANC to identify a date without further delay. We believe through this process discussions can take place to repair the movement.”
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Nyanda says they are concerned about the impact of the ratings downgrade.
“We are as concerned as every South African should be about the downgrade that came immediately after the removal of comrade Pravin Gordhan as finance minister. We are of the view that the downgrade is going to affect the ordinary South Africans,” Nyanda says.
Committee member Thabang Makwetla says ANC members are responsible for correcting the wrongs in the organisation.
“With respect to the vote of no confidence in Parliament that opposition parties are calling for, I do not think it’s a difficult decision to make. Only ANC members can correct what is wrong within the ANC. We should not be looking for solutions from the opposition. If the motion was sponsored by the ANC it would make sense for them to vote in support of it.”