ANC rolls out big guns in a push to attract voters

In a push to attract voters for the local government elections next month, the ANC has roped former president Thabo Mbeki and former United Nations (UN) Women’s executive director and former deputy state president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka into its campaign.

Mbeki was kept on the backburner during the Jacob Zuma presidency, but has addressed a few ANC gatherings at the invitation of party lower structures during Cyril Ramaphosa’s tenure.

He has spoken at Gauteng, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal ANC events and has been a regular guest speaker at University of South Africa functions and at other institutions.

Mbeki is an ex officio member of the party’s national executive committee (NEC), the second-highest decision-making body in between conferences, which has allowed him to participate in the NEC and party activities, including campaigns.

But Luthuli House has not engaged him in its activities, save for invitations by provincial structures.

Mbeki is scheduled to address business and professionals in Johannesburg on Thursday. The event is to be preceded by an address by Mlambo-Ngcuka, who is to have a conversation with young women.

Both events have been organised by the ANC Gauteng and the provincial women’s league.

Mlambo-Ngcuka has appeared on various platforms as a guest on several occasions as then executive director of UN Women, an agency of the United Nations.

She replaced Jacob Zuma as deputy president after he was fired by Mbeki in 2005. She briefly joined the Congress of the People in 2009 but soon returned to the ANC and finished her term as UN Women’s executive director in August.

Although Ramaphosa’s campaign at Harrismith in the Maluti-a Phofung local municipality last weekend was seen as a great success, despite ANC service delivery failures in the region, Mbeki has been brought in to boost the
party’s flagging campaign in Gauteng.

Ramaphosa faced heckling in his home township, Soweto, during the first campaign and had to cancel his second round at the last moment for fear of more hostility from dissatisfied residents.

Ramaphosa was warmly welcomed in the eastern Free State, where his deputy David Mabuza had done early spade work with promises of fixing ANC mistakes.

Ramaphosa urged Harrismith residents to give the party a second chance and said the ANC would bring in clean councillors this time around.

Gauteng also used Mbeki during the 2019 election campaign in the province.

– ericn@citizen.co.za