ANC plans campaign against spaza shops run by undocumented foreign nationals

The ANC does not fear giving Public Enterprise Minister Pravin Gordhan the boot, according to the ruling party’s secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.

Following the weekend’s national executive committee (NEC) meeting, there have been reports it rejected Gordhan’s report on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and had called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire him.

WATCH: Police crack down on Illicit goods in spaza shops, 18 foreign nationals nabbed

The ANC Youth League and various ANC NEC members have been calling for Gordhan’s head. Mbalula himself had previously called for Gordhan to move with speed with fixing SOEs or they would move him. He, however, retracted the statement.

There have also been reports the ANC leadership feared Gordhan or saw him as an untouchable, hence he had not been fired despite the continued failures of SOEs under his watch.

No time to fire ministers

Mbalula yesterday denied the party feared firing Gordhan despite the continued failures of SOEs under his watch. He said it was not true the ANC feared firing Gordhan, and even if they decided to, there was no time to be firing ministers as the party was focused on elections.

ALSO READ: Two Free State kids die after allegedly eating snacks from a spaza shop

“Removing anyone is academic at the present moment because we are almost there in terms of 2024. We need to keep everybody’s focus on that,” he said.

Mbalula said the ANC was focused on ensuring ministers were focused on delivering because they did not want surprises.

“We are focused on the agenda of doing things. Ministers don’t have to be governed by fear. They must just focus on their work and that’s what is important. We will not compromise on them doing their work.”

Campaign against spaza shops

He announced the ruling party was planning a massive campaign to deal with illegal immigrants running township spaza shops. This after three children died in Naledi, Soweto, when they allegedly consumed expired biscuits and juice from a foreign-owned spaza shop.

WATCH: ANC not scared of Pravin Gordhan, says Mbalula

He said the ANC would join communities in ensuring they removed illegal immigrants who owned spaza shops in townships.

“The illegal unregulated food is not even negotiable, it’s illegal and it’s criminal. People must be arrested. If the communities are exposing that, the ANC must be at the helm of joining the communities.

“This has nothing to do with xenophobia, yes there are other people who have such tendencies but they are not many. If they don’t act, they will take the law into their own hands, and they will close the spaza shops in the townships.”

ALSO READ: Life better in SA: ANC responds to ‘propaganda’ it’s done nothing

Mbalula also expressed the ANC’s support for the people of Palestine, saying nobody was going to tell them that they should abandon them. He said what was happening against Palestinians was evil, and the party will tomorrow march to the Israeli embassy in solidarity with Palestine.

Propaganda

Mbalula also hit back at “propaganda” claiming the ANC NEC has done nothing in the nearly 30 years it has been in power.

“A straight forward and irrefutable fact emerged from the 2022 Census by Stats SA Life in South Africa is considerably better today than in 1994 or 2019. This is despite the challenges that we have faced as a country.

WATCH: Mbalula clarifies remarks about disrespecting Thabo Mbeki

“The NEC noted that while a lot is being done in contributing to the economic recovery, communicating these strides to the masses is essential to dispel the propaganda suggesting the ANC has done nothing, which flies against the scientific evidence [from] the Census 2022 report.”

– lungam@citizen.co.za. Additional reporting by Faizel Patel

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