Lindiwe Sisulu says she gets along with Mantashe

The Human Settlements minister and ANC presidential candidate Lindiwe Sisulu said she gets along with the party’s secretary general Gwede Mantashe and “he is my leader.”

This comes after she reportedly launched an attack on Mantashe over his endorsement of Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa’s campaign.

DispatchLive reported earlier this week that the minister questioned Mantashe’s struggle credentials and blamed him for the weakened relations between the ANC and its tripartite alliance partners.

“Gwede has [disqualified] himself from running the conference because he lacks the necessary objectivity and credibility to run a democratic conference. And he is using his position for his personal interest and to the advantage of his friends. The shameful patriarchal attitude he displays shows he has not understood the ANC and its values,” she reportedly said.

Addressing the University of Cape Town students on Thursday, Sisulu seemed to have changed her tune on Mantashe.

She said he is her leader, they come from the same clan and she was “just joking” with him.

“I was watching TV and saw Gwede saying we should just have Ramaphosa as president and if we need a woman, we can have Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as deputy. I think it’s wrong for Gwede to express his favouritism. The secretary general should be neutral. The office of the SG out to be neutral to ensure that everyone is exercising their democratic right,” she said.

On the issue of free higher education, Sisulu said “it’s a must.”

She said about R100 billion has been lost by government through corruption and R42 billion was needed for free higher education.

“Working together we must ensure that we are able to attain free education for all our deserving students. We must not steal from the masses, we must not be corrupt.”

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