Former president Thabo Mbeki hit the election campaign trail in Soweto on Thursday, saying that while the ANC has many internal issues that need attention, it is crucial for voters to return the party to power.
Mbeki also took a hard stance against those who had joined the party with criminal intent.
Mbeki, who arrived at the briefing venue in Ipelegeng Hall in White City Jabavu in plain clothes, changed into a black-and-yellow ANC T-shirt in the backseat of his VIP protection vehicle en route to Jabulani Mall.
When he took to the podium after conducting a meet and greet with the locals, Mbeki was quick to express his disdain that “even thieves” wore the same ANC T-shirt he was wearing.
Walkabout across the mall
He said that the ANC contained undesirable individuals who required expulsion.
However, he said that after conducting a walkabout across the mall, he found that the people were optimistic that the ANC would solve its problems, adding that the party was the only party he was familiar with.
ANC will solve its problems
“As we talked around the mall, I was happy to see the faces of the people; they are confident that the problems we are facing will be solved,” Mbeki said.
“They have to be solved. I promise that we will fix the ANC so that it is able to represent the people.”
Over the weekend, Sunday World reported that the ANC had made an SOS call to Mbeki to come to its rescue before the May 29 general elections, as the governing party feared it might lose its position as the opposition mounted a serious campaign to dislodge it from power.
We exclusively revealed that the ANC head of organising, Mdu Manana, had met with Mbeki and nuzzled him into joining the party’s campaign trail.
This was after the organisation learned that Mbeki had planned to pen another scathing letter to the ANC expressing his disappointment and unavailability to help the party with its election campaign.
Meeting with Paul Mashatile
So serious was the party’s intention to get Mbeki in its corner that it also unleashed its deputy president, Paul Mashatile, to have a one-on-one with the former president to listen to his concerns.
Mbeki, according to our moles, intended to write a letter about two weeks ago stating “damning reasons” why the ANC could not expect him to be part of its election campaigns.
When asked on Thursday if he still found it challenging to campaign because he had to speak the truth about the party, Mbeki said he had been an ANC member for more than 60 years and had to fulfil the obligation for all members to actively campaign.
“And that is all we are doing,” he said.
