Mantashe’s pre-election ‘apartheid party’ conspiracy

African National Congress (ANC) national chairperson Gwede Mantashe has accused Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen of organising “apartheid parties” to form a group that will remove the ANC from power.

Mantashe made the comments during the OR Tambo Memorial Lecture in Boksburg on Monday.

Earlier this month, the DA leader called for opposition parties to form a “moonshot pact” to eject the ANC from power in next year’s general elections.

In his speech after being re-elected DA leader, John Steenhuisen promised his party that he would prevent ANC and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) “doomsday coalition” from taking power next year when the country goes to the polls.

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Steenhuisen proposed a “moonshot pact” with smaller parties.

While some parties welcomed the idea, others, however, criticised the DA leader.

Mantashe on DA’s ‘impossible task’

Addressing ANC members yesterday, Mantashe said opposition parties had been talking about removing the ruling party from power for years.

He said the ‘moonshot pact’ should not be allowed to happen.

“There were times when people thought the ANC would disappear. This thing of people saying the ANC will disappear come 2024 is not new, it has always been there,” said Mantashe.

“Steenhuisen is trying the impossible. He’s trying to organise all apartheid parties and parties of Bantustans to form a group that will defeat the ANC. Obviously, it should not happen, it should not happen. And we have a duty to ensure that it doesn’t happen in honour of Oliver Tambo.”

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The ‘moonshot pact’ was also criticised by Gauteng ANC chairperson Panyaza Lesufi during a media briefing announcing Thapelo Amad’s resignation as Joburg mayor on Monday evening.

“The so-called moonlight pact, if it’s another race it’s a moon, if it’s other people, it’s a doomsday. That on its own, the characterisation of people you differ with and say they’re a domsday is very problematic,” said Lesufi.

“But they’re fighting even before the ink dries. Two weeks ago we were told they were signing the moonshot, today they were fighting on social media. We warned them that if you form a pact on the basis on anger, you’re not going to succeed.”

ANC and DA coalition

While the DA is clear about working to remove the ANC from power, the ruling party’s secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said on Tuesday that the (ANC) was open to forming a coalition with any party that shared the same interest in addressing “the legacy of apartheid” even though they had differences.

Mbalula said that the ANC had an issue with the party’s stance on racial matters.

“The DA, in terms of its policies, is an apologist to racism. It says racism doesn’t exist and that racists, to a certain extent, we must put a blind eye on them. They say affirmative action [such as black economic empowerment] is a problem,” he said.

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“They are apologists in a sense that they say what has happened over 300 years in this country must be ignored in 30 years of freedom [and] everything else is levelled, we are all equal. This is the DA, that’s what they stand for… they practice what they say.”

Mbalula suggested that the ANC will work with the DA if the party had no choice, but to do so.

Additional reporting by Molefe Seeletsa