Cape Times

Mbeki calls on KZN voters to vote ANC

FORMER president Thabo Mbeki has challenged the KwaZulu-Natal ANC leadership to act in a manner that will ensure the electorate returns the party to the helm of the provincial government.

Mbeki said the party’s fate in government rested on the ruling party engaging with voters honestly and fixing the mistakes that have undermined it in the eyes of the public.

He made the remarks after he was asked by journalist­s about the ANC’s prospects in the May 29 elections. He was non-committal about whether the party would be victorious.

KwaZulu-Natal is one of the most hotly-contested provinces in the election and the ANC has deployed its senior leaders to the province to woo the voters. The party is desperatel­y trying to hang on to power amid challenges posed by the resurgence of the IFP and the emergence of Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP).

The former president has been on the campaign trail in KZN for a few days. On Saturday he campaigned at uMgungundl­ovu, while yesterday he led the party’s campaign in Durban and in KwaDukuza.

As part of the ANC’s campaign in KwaDukuza, Mbeki visited the family of late ANC president Chief Albert Luthuli and laid flowers at his grave. He also briefly engaged with members of the United Congregati­onal Church of Southern Africa.

Addressing congregant­s of the church, which is located at the site where Luthuli is buried, Mbeki pleaded with them to vote for the ANC, saying the party was working hard to fix its mistakes.

He urged the congregant­s and the public to vote for the ANC as the party acknowledg­ed its mistakes and was working to address them.

Asked about his party’s prospects based on the engagement­s he has had with community members in the province, the former resident was non-committal about whether the party would be victorious.

“I really don’t want to make prediction­s. We are trying to communicat­e here in the province of KwaZulu-Natal who the ANC is, what it stands for and what it intends to do even about the wrong things (the party has done).

“It is really a matter for the people of the province to decide. I’ve worked with the people in this province for many years. These are rational people, they are thinking people and they know this ANC very well.

“I think that when we communicat­e with them in a manner that they know and believe is truthful, then they will do the right thing, but it is really up to the people,” he said.