‘Race not a factor’ – Mantashe disputes claims EFF and MK party ‘more suitable’ GNU partners

African National Congress (ANC) national chairperson Gwede Mantashe claims that the MK Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are no different from the Democratic Alliance (DA) in terms of their hostility towards the ANC.

Mantashe was defending the ANC’s inclusion of the DA in the government of national unity (GNU).

EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu, in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address at the Cape Town City Hall on Friday, said his party rejected the GNU because of the DA’s inclusion.

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He stated that Ramaphosa should have invited only “forces whose umbilical cords are buried in the same yard.”

“Maybe we’re wrong to believe we share a common heritage and perspective with those who chose to constitute the government with colonial forces.

“Instead of forming a progressive government, the president of the ANC assembled a bloated executive of Oppenheimer puppets, semi-literate matriculants, apartheid apologists, ex-convicts, and waffling careerists, and calls it a government of national unity,” Shivambu said.

John Hlophe, the MK Party chief whip, called the GNU “a singularly cruel joke by the Ramaphosa faction of the ANC and the Democratic Alliance.”

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Hlophe said the GNU would not be able to address the challenges faced by poor South Africans unless the legacy of apartheid and colonialism is addressed.

The ANC’s alliance partner, the SACP, has also criticised the inclusion of the DA in the GNU.

Mantashe: DA, EFF and MK party ‘same’

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mantashe argued that although the MK Party and the EFF decided against joining the GNU due to the DA’s inclusion, among other reasons, the two parties are no different from the DA.

He said that they are all equally hostile towards the ANC. This despite assumptions that an alliance with ‘black’ parties would be better.

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“The MK Party, EFF, and DA are all hostile to the ANC equally. So the idea that race determines the nature of these relationships is incorrect,” Mantashe told the publication.

“The assumption that black is revolutionary and white is reactionary is wrong because the hostility of the EFF/MK Party and the DA towards the ANC is the same.

“We talked to all of them, and they took a stance: if the DA is involved, we’re not going to join. The DA initially took that stance but ultimately accepted. That’s why they are now in the same government of national unity with the PA, because they recognised the risks of refusing to work with certain parties. The EFF/MK chose not to be in a government that includes the DA. It’s their choice, not ours.”

DA changes tune

Before the May 29 elections, the DA allied with several parties to form the Multi-Party Charter. The grouping campaigned on removing the ANC from power “to save South Africa.”

The party has now pledged to work with the ANC to maintain the GNU. DA leader John Steenhuisen said his party would rather support President Cyril Ramaphosa.

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“We would be unlikely to support a motion of no confidence [in Ramaphosa] because, frankly, Phala Phala pales in comparison to the Matodzi affidavit and the acts of blatant corruption associated with state capture,” he said in a media briefing this week.

“I think we will take our chances with the president rather than with those seeking to bring down the government to negotiate their way back into power for no altruistic purpose other than to access state resources and benefit their networks,” he added.

‘We know who the DA is’

Mantashe shares the same sentiment as ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula. The SG has criticised parties accusing the ANC of “selling out” by forming a GNU with the DA.

Mbalula said the critics were merely playing political games.

“We know what we stand for. We know what the DA is, and it’s not going to change us towards the DA,” said Mbalula.

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“They rejected the GNU but didn’t know what they wanted from us. The MK Party rejected our president. The MK Party said it did not want our president; today, we’re being asked to work with him [Jacob Zuma].

“We are persuaded by policy. The moment our president and his Cabinet tell us that the NHI cannot be implemented due to the constraints of the government of national unity, then we will know it is the moment of selling out.”