Cape Town — Former South African president, Jacob Zuma, is using disgruntled ANC executives in an attempt to mobilsie voters for his new party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK).
While Zuma still remains a loyal member of the party, there are no doubts that he is set to leave the party that he led for so many years. Zuma announced last year that he would not be campaigning for the ANC in the upcoming elections, saying it would be a betrayal to support the ANC or Ramaphosa.
Zuma recently announced provincial command teams comprised of convenors and coordinators for each province who were recruited from ANC branch and regional leaders and local councillors, The Citizen wrote.
Ishmael Semonyo, a former ANC ward 14 branch chair in Matlosana, North West, is among the names to join the ANC. Many former ANC members from Madibeng, including a former branch secretary and ward 34 councillor in the municipality, appeared on the list of MK’s mobilising and campaign team.
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Madibeng has become the breeding ground for MK,” a concerned ANC member said anonymously. The MK coordinators’ first task was to recruit for the new party, which is targeting ANC members who have issues with the ruling party.
Zuma is expected to visit North West, where he will mobilise traditional leaders during a rally at Taung tomorrow. The coordinators have been organising for traditional leaders to attend the gathering, where they are expected to air their concerns to Zuma and his delegation.
Some traditional leaders are apparently looking to Zuma as the last hope after being sidelined by the ruling party. Many traditional leaders feel that communities have been neglected and have not been prioritised by the government. Some villages have no transport or electricity, water shortages, and no suitable schools or clinics.
The problem of neglect of rural development and lack of community upliftment is widespread in the rural areas in the Eastern Cape, North West and Limpopo.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
