Cape Town – ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe reportedly defended the inclusion of the DA in the government of national unity (GNU), arguing that the EFF and MK Party are just as hostile towards the ANC as the DA.
This follows criticism from EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu and MK Party chief whip John Hlophe, who rejected the GNU due to the DA’s involvement.
Shivambu responding to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address at the Cape Town City Hall on Friday, said that his party rejected the government of national unity (GNU) due to the inclusion of the DA and and forming a “bloated executive”.
Shivambu called the GNU a mix of “Oppenheimer puppets” and other derogatory terms, arguing it lacked true progressive elements.
“Maybe we’re wrong to believe we share a common heritage and perspective with those who chose to constitute the government with colonial forces.
Ramaphosa deserves award for fictional leader.
~ DP @FloydShivambu pic.twitter.com/Iezb63A14r
— ONE AFRICA 🌍 (@AfricaisBlack) July 19, 2024
“Instead of constituting a progressive government, the president of the ANC assembled a bloated executive of Oppenheimer puppets, of semi-literate matriculants, of apartheid apologists, of ex-convicts, of waffling careerists and called them a government of national unity,” Shivambu said.
“This is what we’re dealing with now. And As if that is not enough, he came here yesterday and called them birds. So we’re being led by a government of weaver birds, which are well known for building sophisticated nests.
“But one thing you must know about birds is that only those with the same feathers flock together. They identify with each other.
“However sophisticated and beautiful the nest that they build will be, they will never even allow the most peaceful of bird, a dove, to enter that nest. So these weaver birds that you’re bragging about here will always associate with themselves.”
ALSO READ | Zuma turns down Parliament invitation, MK party confirms
“However sophisticated and beautiful the nest that they build will be, they will never even allow the most peaceful of bird, a dove, to enter that nest. So these weaver birds that you’re bragging about here will always associate with themselves.”
According to The Citizen, Hlophe shared similar sentiments, calling the GNU a desperate move by Ramaphosa to retain power and criticising its inability to address the legacy of apartheid and colonialism.
In an interview with Sunday Times, Mantashe argued that the MK Party and the EFF, despite deciding against joining the GNU due to the DA’s inclusion, are no different from the DA in their hostility towards the ANC.
He refuted the assumption that alliances with ‘black’ parties are inherently better, saying that hostility towards the ANC is equal among the MK Party, EFF, and DA.
Mantashe said that race does not determine the nature of these relationships and explained that the DA, initially resistant, eventually accepted to join the GNU, while the EFF and MK Party chose not to participate due to the DA’s involvement.
ALSO READ | WATCH | Here is what Steenhuisen says about Phala Phala
“The MK Party, EFF, and DA are all hostile to the ANC equally. So the idea that race determines the nature of these relationships is incorrect.
“The assumption that black is revolutionary and white is reactionary is wrong because the hostility of the EFF/MK Party and the DA towards the ANC is the same, Mantashe said, according to the publication, as quoted by The Citizen.
Before the May 29 elections, the DA campaigned to remove the ANC from power but has since pledged to support the GNU, with DA leader John Steenhuisen expressing preference to back Ramaphosa over those seeking to bring down the government for self-serving reasons.
“We would be unlikely to support a motion of no confidence because, frankly, Phala Phala pales into insignificance in light of the Matodzi affidavit and the acts of blatant corruption associated with state capture,” he said on Wednesday while addressing the media on the role of the party in the national government and parliament in the current administration.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Source: AFP
Picture: X/@GwedeMantashe1
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
