Former President Thabo Meki has urged South Africans to vote for the African National Congress (ANC) – even as he admitted that the country and the party face problems.
Addressing the media during a campaign trail in Soweto, Johannesburg on Thursday (25 April), Mbeki emphasised that the ANC should be returned to power.
Vote for ANC, Thabo Mbeki says
“I think it’s important that we should indeed return the ANC to power. I know there are many problems in the country [and] even problems within the ANC,” he said.
“And so, as we say vote ANC, we’re also making a commitment to the people that we will attend to the problems within the ANC itself to make sure that it is able to discharge its responsibilities to the population.”
Although he initially expressed optimism after the ANC decided to “renew” itself at its 2017 national conference, Mbeki has been critical of the slow pace of renewal in recent years. He has also criticised the government for its perceived failure to adequately address economic challenges.
However, he said the people received his call to vote for the party well. “I think the response is very good. I’ve not been in Soweto for some time, but I know the response of the people [because] I have campaigned here before,” he explained.
“It’s a challenge to address all these problems – unemployment, poverty, crime, everything – and I think the ANC can do it but it’s an ANC that must be transformed. So, I make that kind of commitment to these voters that we’ll attend to the ANC itself so that it can deliver on its promises.”
The former President, who led the party between 1997 and 2007, said he shared the blame for the challenges that emerged after his successor Jacob Zuma took over.
“For all these years, I’ve always been a member of the ANC. So, as a member of the ANC, I must take responsibility for what the ANC does or doesn’t do, the rights and wrongs of it. It’s our fault; I’m part of that.”