ANC Secretary General has poured cold water over speculation that the party’s deputy president Paul Mashatile would be sworn in as a Member of Parliament this week.
If sworn in, Mashatile is expected to take over as the country’s deputy president after incumbent David Mabuza failed to make the party’s NEC list and had already sent a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa on his intentions to vacate parliament the office.
Speculation on Mashatile’s possible swearing in as MP was rife following the resignation of two MPs in the National Assembly.
On Monday, Parliament’s spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, announced that MPs Mervyn Dirks and Tshilidzi Munyai had tendered their resignations.
David Mabuza has not resigned
Quizzed on the possible swearing in of Mashatile, Mbalula said Mabuza had not resigned.
READ MORE: Presidency won’t confirm David Mabuza wants to quit as deputy president
“He has not made it in the last conference; he is a disciplined cadre of the movement. He is not a chaotic person, he is well organised, he is a man of integrity,” said Mbalula
“There is a deputy president who has now been elected, if the deputy president resigns, the president can then appoint him or any other member to become a deputy president.”
Mbalula made the remarks yesterday while addressing members of the media at the party’s headquarters, Luthuli House, post the NEC Lekgotla held at the weekend.
“Ideally it is the deputy president of the ANC who becomes the deputy president of the country. When that happens, the president will announce it. When the deputy president resigns and we feel the vacancy, we will let you know.”
He said when the president has made up his mind about filling up the vacancies left by those who have resigned; he would bring the replacements to the ANC and its alliances before making a public announcement about it.
“The media wants to run with the story that I’ve predicted when [the president would announce his replacements.] Ideally, these issues must have been done with so that there is stability and we can move forward.
‘Coalition parties don’t work’
Mbalula conceded that coalition governments do not work despite his party having been at the forefront in destabilising DA-led metro like Johannesburg.
His remarks come barely a week after the election of Al Jamah-Ah’s Thapelo Amad as the executive mayor of Johannesburg whose political party enjoys just three sits in the council.
NOW READ: Joburg mayor Thapelo Amad to be sworn in today
‘Stopgap’
He dismissed allegations the ANC and EFF were using Amad as a stopgap until they fix their squabbles.
“Somebody was saying why do we give a party with three sits in council, what do we do when you not in government? What society must understand is that coalitions do not work,” he said.
“We work with like-minded people; we won’t work with the DA or Freedom Front Plus. In everything we have done thus far in coalitions, we have never worked with the right wing and the consecutive.”
He also considered that despite the failures of the DA in the Johannesburg and Tshwane metro, the ANC has not been the best example when it comes to governing.
“We have identified 42 municipalities, we are going down there to fix them starting with Mangaung. There is nothing good in Mangaung in terms of governance and the ANC has long admitted it. There are many municipalities like that in the country but we are going to intervene,” he said
Mbalula criticises Malema’s shutdown call
Mbalula also lambasted calls by Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema’s for a national shutdown amid the energy crisis and for Ramaphosa to resign.
Malema announced on Sundays the party’s plans to bring the country’s economy to a standstill on 20 March.
“The national shutdown means that there will be no school, no university, factories and no business will be operating on that day,” Malema said.
“All municipalities and all major cities will be shut down and there will be no work on that day. All major roads will be barricaded and all ports of entry including roads that lead to borders will be closed.”
Mbalula said the EFF raising this as a political mileage.
“If they don’t shut the country down and promote anarchy, their relevance is gone. To get the attention of the people, they must shut the county down. They won’t be a civil organistaion which does things properly,” he said.
“Why do you promote anarchy when you can March and raise your voice, why do you want to stop people from going to work because EFF has closed the roads.”
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