You will never dictate terms to ANC members, Lesufi tells Zille

DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille and ANC Gauteng chairperson Panyaza Lesufi continue to butt heads over the removal of Cilliers Brink as Tshwane mayor.

Brink was removed in a motion of no confidence vote on Thursday last week. This after 120 councillors voted for the motion, while 87 voted against it. One councillor abstained.

Zille has since issued the ANC an ultimatum to either bring back Cilliers or the DA will not enter into talks in other metros.

ALSO READ: Cilliers Brink removed as City of Tshwane mayor

The DA says it will field Brink as a candidate again when the council gathers to vote for the next mayor.

“The Democratic Alliance will not abandon the residents of the capital city to the chaos caused by the ANC, enabled by ActionSA, which is set to benefit the EFF. We will field Cilliers Brink as a mayoral candidate to continue making progress in Tshwane,” said the party.

Pro-GNU ANC vs anti-GNU ANC

The party also believes ANC factions still exist; one that supports the government of national unity (GNU) and one that doesn’t.

The anti-GNU faction is causing the havoc that ultimately resulted in Brink’s removal, claimed the party.

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“It is clear that the anti-GNU faction of the ANC is gaining the upper hand in the party, and to the extent that there is a pro-GNU faction, they simply do not have the will and wherewithal to stand up to those hollowing out the party from within.”

Zille has accused Lesufi of running a parallel ANC in Gauteng. This structure goes against the decisions of the national ANC run by President Cyril Ramaphosa, she claimed.

Lesufi: ‘ANC not for sale’

Lesufi has hit back at Zille’s claims, telling her there are no two ANCs.

“Gogo Helen Zille, the decision to support the motion of no confidence was taken by the national working committee of the ANC, and no amount of propaganda and misuse of media houses will change that narrative,” said Lesufi.

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“The decision not to incorporate the DA into the Gauteng government of provincial unity was also taken by the national leadership of the ANC; the sooner you accept this reality, the sooner the healing process will begin. Call us names like rogue as you wish; the reality is the ANC will never be a branch of the DA.

“Oksalayo, you will never dictate terms to us members of the ANC. Never! You can bring all your media friends and media houses; the ANC is not for sale. The ANC is one. There’s no provincial ANC nor local ANC; we are one ANC, not a federal movement.”

‘DA sowing discord’

The ANC in Gauteng has also come out guns blazing against the narrative that it has rogue members who defy instructions from the top.

“This dangerous, albeit intentional characterization is done with the intention to malign the ANC leadership in Gauteng and to single out the ANC Gauteng provincial chairperson, comrade Panyaza Lesufi, and the provincial secretary, comrade Thembinkosi ‘TK’ Nciza, as rebels,” said Gauteng ANC.

The structure further reminded the DA that it is not in a grand coalition with the ANC as it believes.

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Zille has previously said the ANC is in denial about the partnership being a grand coalition, not a GNU.

“We wish to reiterate that the GNU is an open invitation to all parties that wish to contribute towards the creation of a non-racist, non-sexist, democratic, and prosperous South Africa,” said Gauteng ANC.

“The DA has alienated itself from its own historical allies rather than any commissions or committees of the ANC in Gauteng.”