Former president was a relentless political rival of the incumbent
03 April 2023 - 16:22
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Mbeki and Cyril Ramaphosa were relentless political rivals. Mbeki was unsettled by Ramaphosa’s popularity, and then there were rumours that his political rivals, including Ramaphosa, were plotting to assassinate him just before an ANC electoral conference.
Mbeki was silent when the ANC protected Jacob Zuma after the Constitutional Court ruling on Nkandla. It is therefore opportunistic of him to attack the ANC over its section 89 decision to protect Ramaphosa. There has been no Constitutional Court ruling on the Phala Phala saga.
The ANC voted against the section 89 panel’s report because Ramaphosa had taken the matter on review to the Constitutional Court. This was surely a reasonable decision by the ANC in a constitutional democracy.
Unfortunately, the court refused to entertain the matter. What more was Ramaphosa expected to do? The ANC’s hands were tied because it would not take a premature decision while waiting on the court ruling. Crucially, the SA Revenue Service and the public protector have found no wrongdoing on the president’s part.
It is disingenuous of Mbeki to accuse the ANC of abusing its majority to subvert the constitution when he blatantly did so during his term as president. Mbeki flagrantly abused his office by firing Vusi Pikoli as head of the National Prosecuting Authority when he was about to charge a prominent member of the ANC (the late Jackie Selebi) with corruption.
The section 89 is essentially a political issue and the ANC has acted just like the Republican Party and Conservative Party when they protected Donald Trump (impeachment) and Boris Johnson (parties at No 10 during Covid-19).
Mbeki should accept polls, which indicate that the ANC would lose even more support at the next elections in the absence of the much-loved Ramaphosa.
Jeffrey Mothuloe Via email
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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LETTER: Mbeki out of order in criticism of ANC
Former president was a relentless political rival of the incumbent
Former president Thabo Mbeki’s criticism of the ANC parliamentary caucus refers (“Mbeki lashes ANC and Mashatile over Phala Phala and Eskom”, March 30).
Mbeki and Cyril Ramaphosa were relentless political rivals. Mbeki was unsettled by Ramaphosa’s popularity, and then there were rumours that his political rivals, including Ramaphosa, were plotting to assassinate him just before an ANC electoral conference.
Mbeki was silent when the ANC protected Jacob Zuma after the Constitutional Court ruling on Nkandla. It is therefore opportunistic of him to attack the ANC over its section 89 decision to protect Ramaphosa. There has been no Constitutional Court ruling on the Phala Phala saga.
The ANC voted against the section 89 panel’s report because Ramaphosa had taken the matter on review to the Constitutional Court. This was surely a reasonable decision by the ANC in a constitutional democracy.
Unfortunately, the court refused to entertain the matter. What more was Ramaphosa expected to do? The ANC’s hands were tied because it would not take a premature decision while waiting on the court ruling. Crucially, the SA Revenue Service and the public protector have found no wrongdoing on the president’s part.
It is disingenuous of Mbeki to accuse the ANC of abusing its majority to subvert the constitution when he blatantly did so during his term as president. Mbeki flagrantly abused his office by firing Vusi Pikoli as head of the National Prosecuting Authority when he was about to charge a prominent member of the ANC (the late Jackie Selebi) with corruption.
The section 89 is essentially a political issue and the ANC has acted just like the Republican Party and Conservative Party when they protected Donald Trump (impeachment) and Boris Johnson (parties at No 10 during Covid-19).
Mbeki should accept polls, which indicate that the ANC would lose even more support at the next elections in the absence of the much-loved Ramaphosa.
Jeffrey Mothuloe
Via email
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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