Mathews Phosa leads campaigns for the ANC in Mpumalanga

The former ANC treasurer-general and the first premier of Mpumalanga, Dr Mathews Phosa, has called on the former deputy president, David Mabuza, to come out and campaign for the ANC ahead of the national and provincial elections.

“I read somewhere that Mabuza has released his vehicles to campaign. I haven’t seen them, but I can’t really comment on something I am not really sure about. But Mabuza has got the right to campaign for the ANC, and there’s still plenty of time to do so. I would actually encourage Cde Mabuza to stand up and campaign for his movement,” said Phosa.

He was speaking to the media at the KaBokweni Plaza on Saturday May 4 during his campaign trail.

Mabuza, nicknamed ‘The Cat’, had, however, indicated his availability to campaign for the ANC earlier and dispelled rumours linking him with the former president, Jacob Zuma’s MK Party.

Over the weekend, the SABC reported that Mabuza had been deployed to campaign in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, and that he had released his vehicles to go and do the ANC’s work in those provinces.

There were visuals of him doing the rounds on social media, showing him leading a campaign trail somewhere in the country on Sunday.

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With the countdown to the national and provincial elections already under way, it’s exactly 21 days before the big day.

The Mpumalanga ANC has unleashed its secret weapons to campaign among and woo potential voters. The party has roped in the services of their former leaders and struggle stalwarts with vast and rich political acumen between them, such as Phosa, Fish Mahlalela and Peter Nyoni, among others.

Phosa visited the KaBokweni area where he interacted with ordinary citizens, while Mahlalela spent the weekend campaigning in Nkomazi and Nyoni visited some churches in Barberton.

During his campaign in KaBokweni, Phosa took a swipe at Zuma, saying that he has gone against his own teachings while he was still in the ANC’s driver’s seat.

“I repeat, Zuma was the president of the ANC for more than 10 years and he called upon us to be disciplined, to unite and never to divide the movement, but now he is doing the exact opposite of what he has been preaching in the movement. So, the national executive committee was right to charge him so that he faces the music and explain why he behaved in the manner he did,” said Phosa.

About the reception his organisation had received in KaBokweni, Phosa said, “The community has received us with open arms. There hasn’t been a single complaint from them. As a matter of fact, they were saying to me they are going to vote for the ANC. There are certain messages out there, especially by the media saying that the ANC will not be voted for, but these people here don’t care about that. They know the history of the ANC and that it was the ANC that fought for them and liberated them.”

“They are not confused about that, they are actually smart people. Come May 29, we will prove that we are still a force to be reckoned with, and we will win the elections, there’s no doubt about that.”

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He acknowledged that the ANC has made some great strides and some mistakes along the way, but they are working to fix them.

“I am personally putting my head on the block and publicly say that, yes, we have done certain things, we have made some mistakes, but we will correct them, and that’s the honour of the ANC. Which other political party says they have made mistakes in certain municipalities and are willing to correct them? Not a single one. They pretend they are little angels when they are not,” said Phosa.

The views expressed in this report are those of the relevant interviewees and the parties they represent, and are not held by this publication.