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LISTEN | Goal of opposition is to prevent ANC effecting change: Ramaphosa

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa believes the opposition want to grab power from the party to prevent it changing people's lives. File photo
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa believes the opposition want to grab power from the party to prevent it changing people's lives. File photo
Image: Thapelo Morebudi

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa says opponents want to deprive his party of the ability to change people’s lives by snatching power.

“The strategy of our opponents is to consolidate anti-transformation forces through things such as coalitions or pacts,” he said after an ANC lekgotla in Ekurhuleni.

Listen to Ramaphosa's remarks:

The ANC maintains it will achieve a decisive victory and does not have a “plan B”, despite observers predicting the party will fall below 50% in this year’s elections. It believes a coalition would be disastrous at national level, with secretary-general Fikile Mbalula saying coalitions have not worked and have delayed progress. Ramaphosa said the lekgotla agreed the ANC will “campaign for a clear majority to ensure stability and sustain progress”.

Ramaphosa said opposition parties are “hard at work to reverse the gains of freedom made over the past 30 years.

“Their main objective is to stop transformative and developmental programmes and to reverse gains made in improving the quality of lives of the majority of our people.”

Ramaphosa said opponents are encouraging the creation of breakaway groupings to erode ANC support. “Often these groupings start as small factional groups in the ANC, but when the movement pushes back they mutate into opposition parties.” 

The ANC on Monday suspended its former president Jacob Zuma for contravening the party's constitution by publicly announcing he will campaign and vote for the newly established MK Party.   

Ramaphosa said an election date would be announced soon.

TimesLIVE


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