The ANC needs to cleanse itself of "crooks" who are   party members only for self-enrichment, former president Thabo Mbeki says. "That’s renewal," he told Spanish newspaper El País in an interview last week. "If the ANC does not do the renewal it will continue to do the things that were happening under Jacob Zuma." He said it was "generally understood" that part of the problem was that corruption had become entrenched in government and society  during former president Jacob Zuma’s terms in office. "Entrenchment of corruption led to what is called state capture, which means that you have a particular business family which became so important that it was taking decisions on behalf of the government," Mbeki said. The ANC recalled Zuma in February. This was after Cyril Ramaphosa was elected ANC president at the party’s 54th national conference in December. Zuma, his son Duduzane and the controversial Gupta family are at the centre of state capture allegations. Zuma is also facing corrup...

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