Former president Jacob Zuma. Picture: Gallo Images/Fani Mahuntsi
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party has said that a meeting with the African National Congress (ANC) regarding coalition discussions is expected to take place “soon”.
This comes after ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula suggested that coalition talks with the party have stalled because Jacob Zuma is unavailable.
As the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) met on Thursday to discuss the way forward in their coalition talks, Mbalula said contacting the MK party had been “very difficult”.
“It is very difficult to talk to people there, because when you talk to them, they say they are still waiting for Baba [Zuma] and that Baba can’t be found.”
Zuma’s six-month-old party claimed 46% of the vote in KwaZulu-Natal and 15% nationally in last week’s polls.
In a statement on Thursday evening, MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela confirmed that engagements with the ANC had taken place.
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“A meeting is expected to take place soon, where the MK party will hear the views presented with an open mind while firmly prioritising the inspiration and aspirations of the South African majority and blacks in particular.”
Speaking outside the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, Mbalula said the ANC was still undecided on whether to continue to engage with the MK party.
“It depends on this [NEC] meeting whether we will still meet with them. We are open to speaking to everyone, including the MK party.”
Meanwhile, the MK party said it commits and reaffirms to engage only in the future of South Africa, which prioritises the interests of the people, especially the black majority, who are “poor, unemployed, homeless, and landless.”
“Any coalition has to focus on eradicating the systems that preserve and support the prolonged political subjugation and economic enslavement of our people.”
Last Friday, MK national executive committee member and Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, told the media that a post-election marriage between the ANC and MK party can only succeed without Ramaphosa in the mix.
ALSO READ: Can Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla lead the MK party in parliament ?
“Definitely not the ANC of Ramaphosa,” she said, adding that MK was only willing to work with “progressive black parties”.
Additional reporting by Cornelia Le Roux and Itumeleng Mafisa
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