President Cyril Ramaphosa has ridiculed the opposition parties looking to unseat the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, describing their efforts as pointless actions of a “deranged man”.
Ramaphosa said the ANC was the “only bull in the kraal” and after the May 29 elections, it would return to power.
The president was on a charm offensive this past weekend as he criss-crossed KwaZulu-Natal on the ANC’s campaign trail. He defended his party’s record in government and dismissed any concerns that the ANC might lose power after the elections.
The ANC finds itself with its back against the wall in the province, facing a real prospect of being pushed out as the governing party.
While the ANC was already facing a trust deficit with voters, the emergence of the MK Party and the resurgence of the IFP have further complicated its campaign.
Ramaphosa’s blitz elicited mixed reaction from experts, especially on whether it can shift voter sentiment firmly in favour of the ANC.
Addressing residents outside the Hammarsdale Mall on Sunday, the president said the ANC would continue to govern KZN.
“I was told that I should not be concerned, the ANC is loved in this area. All these (other parties) coming to campaign, they will have no impact because the bull that dominates here is the ANC.
The ANC will continue to govern whether they like it or not,” said Ramaphosa, adding that the efforts of these parties would amount to nothing.
“All their efforts are nothing more than a pipe dream, they are lost, they do not know what they are doing. They seem to be mentally disturbed. People that are confused are like this, we are looking at them and we see that it seems they have lost their minds. They will come to you in their red, blue, green (party regalia) and all these mishmash of colours, but they will never defeat the ANC,“ he said.
Addressing crowds earlier, Ramaphosa criticised those who said nothing had been achieved under the ANC.
“There are people who say in the last 30 years they do not see work that has been done by the ANC, we want to say to those people, they are blind (if they can’t see what has been achieved).
“In the last 30 years, the ANC has done a lot of work,” he said.
While campaigning in Inanda, the president said he was confident that the ANC would win the elections, based on the engagements he had with the communities.
“I am glad to be in this area and my spirits are really lifted, this is when I have a feel and smell and sight of the ANC victory in this election because the people love the ANC, they can see what the ANC has done, and is doing.”
On Saturday, the president attended the Nagara Festival hosted by ANC KZN.
The ANC said this was a clear indication that the party remains a home for all progressive forces and activists.
Addressing the event, Ramaphosa said the party’s focus in the past five years has been to deal with state capture.
“For the past five years we have been dealing precisely with that in the process of rebuilding, rebuilding our state institutions, repositioning the ANC to make sure that the ANC can lead the renewal and the rebuilding that is so needed in our country,” he said.
In a Q&A session with the media on the war in the Middle East, Ramaphosa said the recent escalation between Iran and Israel was something that the government had warned about.
“We warned at the beginning of this conflict that unless it was resolved and unless the big powers in the world intervene to ensure that there is a ceasefire, the war will start spreading.
“We do not want to see any further escalation; that conflict must come to an end and we will continue to call for commonsense to begin to prevail and we believe sense is prevailing in many parts of the world,” he said.
Analysts said while KZN was important to the ANC, the president’s attention might be too little and too late.
Siyabonga Ntombela, politics lecturer at the University of KZN, said there was fierce contestation for the province and the ANC’s efforts might be in vain.
“KZN is up for grabs, whether there will be an outright winner, I guess only time will tell. Ramaphosa’s campaign is attempting to defuse former president Zuma’s inroads since it looks like the MK Party has gained popularity by an exponential proportion.”
Professor Musa Xulu said the stand taken by the government on the issue of Palestine could serve the ANC when it comes to securing votes within minority communities in the country.
“This has opened doors for the president to be very much accepted among the minorities, especially the Indian, coloured and Muslim communities. He is now seen as someone who does not just serve the interests of the ANC or black people, but someone with a heart to be on the side of the suffering.”
The Mercury