ANC leaders in Gauteng, which this week unleashed former president Thabo Mbeki onto its campaign trail as it reached war mode in the elections charm offensive, say they have many other aces up their sleeves.
The governing party in the province is set to unleash former premier Tokyo Sexwale and former ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe among the big hitters to improve its electoral fortunes.
Sunday World has been informed that the governing party in Gauteng will leave nothing to chance to ensure that it maintains an outright majority in the province amid several predictions to the contrary.
On Thursday, Mbeki appeared at the Jabulani Mall in Soweto in a walkabout campaign alongside ANC Gauteng provincial chairman Panyaza Lesufi and provincial secretary Thembinkosi “TK” Nciza, leaving many in awe.
Mbeki told scores of ANC supporters to vote for the ANC despite his reservations about the wrongs happening in the party, which he said were being addressed.
A high-ranking ANC official in the province said that opposition leaders hoping to unseat them would see flames.
“This is nothing but the beginning, mchana. We are going to crush the opposition. We will be unleashing Mkhuluwa (Motlanthe) into our campaign trail as well as comrade Tokyo (Sexwale), as we are now in high gear, [and] will be very difficult to stop.”
The party’s other strategy is to use International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor in Muslim communities.
“She is like their god. We want her to be there to talk about the Middle East and all that. She will be key in making us tap into that constituency, and the DA can forget about it.”
The ANC was also planning to aggressively enter the university space to woo the student vote, with lectures lined up. This was a constituency where the likes of Mbeki and Motlanthe were expected to be effective and decampaign the EFF.
“We need our former presidents to go in and speak to students. We must go and destroy the EFF right where they think they have a stranglehold.”
Mbeki, Motlanthe and Sexwale will also be deployed to townships the ANC in the province has identified as hotly contested, including Soweto.
Another target will be Alexandra as well as townships in Tshwane, where the ANC is said to be battling.
The party was encouraged by positive upward trends in the West Rand, where “our votes are increasing”.
Said our source: “We know what to do and exactly where. The DA’s support is dwindling; we have identified areas where MK is mushrooming, and we have a plan for that. As for EFF, we will deal with them properly at the universities.
“But also, the MK will take a lot of numbers from EFF.”
Mbeki, Motlanthe and Sexwale would also be utilised to charm the black middle class, which has turned its back on the ANC.
