ANC hoping white votes can give them 2024 election victory

A drive to up its membership may reportedly see the ANC target white people to help improve its chances in the 2024 election.

According to City Press, the ruling party is targeting 20% from the white voters, with an undetermined percentage from the other race groups.

Strategy

In an aim to attract more white voters in next year’s national elections, the ANC considered adopting a document presented by a group of its white, Indian and coloured members, which was part of its strategy to regain the two-third majority.

It was understood the document was drafted by a group led by ANC member JP Pretorius, who said it was to make the determination of the character of the party, which the national conference concurred with, to speak and to mobilise communities as part of the renewal.

Political analyst Xolani Dube said this was nothing but “ANC gimmicks”. He said if one looked at the policies of the ANC or any other political party, it would show who the beneficiaries of these policies really were.

“I think it is one of those … discourses that the ANC always throws into the public to gain relevance and be seen as shapers and they set the agenda.

“The fact of the matter is there is no need for the ANC to go and recruit because their policies and everything of the ANC are favouring their people.

They are throwing into the valley of nothing with their comments,” he said. Dube said it was crucial to note that the ANC was running away from its true responsibility.

“The responsibility which was the resolutions that include doing away with structural economic imbalances in our country.

The responsibility of providing security and education to the vulnerable. “Just really lifting the standards of South African natives to a human level that is acceptable.”

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Expert weighs in

While it was said that President Cyril Ramaphosa was also driving the issue to attract other groups and hoped the party would deploy some of them in government to reflect it as a nonracial organisation with equal representation, political analyst Amanda Gouws said the ANC had alienated many people of different races with the absolutist application of black economic empowerment) and broad-based black economic empowerment policies.

“Who is going to believe them? Will they also give white people food parcels and T-shirts?” she asked. ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri did not respond to a request for comment.

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– lungas@citizen.co.za