ANC chief Fikile Mbalula issues a warning to Panyaza Lesufi?
Recently, Fikile Mbalula stated that Panyaza Lesufi is not his friend. Has he now issued a warning to the ANC chairperson in Gauteng?
African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula appears to have issued a warning to the party’s chairperson in Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi.
The warning comes just days after Mbalula confirmed that he summoned Lesufi to Luthuli House, the party’s headquarters in Johannesburg on Monday, 7 October, over his anti-Government of National Unity remarks.
IS FIKILE MBALULA THREATENING PANYAZA LESUFI?
Speaking to eNCA at the weekend, Mbalula said people can’t do as they wish in the party and emphasised that ill-disciplined members will be dealt with. He said this in reference to Obed Bapela who misrepresented himself and the party during a trip in Morocco.
Regarding Lesufi, Mbalula said he has warned him not to behave like SACP seceretary-general Solly Mapaila who has slammed the former ruling party for partnering with the Democratic Alliance (DA) to form the GNU.
“If he thinks he will run a campaign against the secretary-general of the ANC, he must mind his steps because we will act! We will never tolerate rogueness in the organisation, that, we will never allow that [sic].
“If he has decided to run a campaign against me as the secretary-general of the ANC, defacing the secretary-general of the organisation and doing it perpetually despite the fact that we are engaging and we talked politically and settled matters, we will have to see how to get around that,” he said.
Further, Mbalula said they would never allow anarchy because they are running an organisation and this is informed by the principles of democratic centralism.
“Democratic centralism dictates that when a decision is taken by the upper structure, the lower structures must follow in line.”
Mbalula said this as there is reportedly tension between the ANC nationally and in Gauteng over the GNU and working with the Democratic Alliance (DA) at a municipal level.
FRIENDS OR FOES?
On Tuesday, 8 October, Mbalula clarified that even though he has a good relationship with Panyaza, they are not friends.
“Whenever I engage with him as the secretary-general he respects the office of the SG and I respect him. We’ve got a good organisational comradely relationship. That relationship has not broken, even yesterday [Monday], there could never have been any tension between us,” he said.