Mbalula: There is nothing we beg from the EFF

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has outlined the party’s coalition plans just hours before the first sitting of Parliament on Friday.

The ANC has been in power for 30 years but lost its majority in the 29 May elections. It secured just over 40% of the national vote, while the main opposition, the DA, got 21.8%.

It has been meeting with 17 parties over the last few days to discuss coalitions, including the EFF. However, Mbalula said the two parties did not see eye to eye on the Government of National Unity proposed by the ANC.

Not everything must be made public

Speaking shortly before Mbalula’s briefing, EFF leader Julius Malema detailed a conversation he had with ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa.

Speaking about their chat, Mbalula confirmed the pair met in Johannesburg on Wednesday but said not everything about their conversations should be made public.

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“What is discussed behind closed doors between leaders is not a matter of public consumption because you have to respect each other. That is the perimeter.”

“We are negotiating; we are engaging with everybody, but not with a cap in hand. There is nothing we beg from the EFF, anywhere in the country”.

Mbalula: Now is not the time to play big or arrogant

He said the ANC was engaging the EFF “with decency”.

‘If they treat us like we don’t exist and we are addressed like that, we do not think that is the way for parties to speak to each other.

“The ANC speaks to even parties with one-man seats. The moment you start to play big and become arrogant, that is the nature of democracy and leadership.”

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He said it was not a time to question someone’s relevance but to work together.

“The moment requires us to sit down together and talk. If the discussions are going to be deadlocked by transactional issues that happen at the local government level, it’s a choice of a political party that it makes. I can’t pronounce on that. I’m neither the spokesperson of the EFF nor its fan”.