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INLSA<\/p>\n
Watched by ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairman Zweli Mkhize (right), president Jacob Zuma has Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele in stitches at a celebration of the ANCs centenary in Zululand, KZN.<\/p>\n
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Jacob Zuma had been a disciplined ANC member in his youth during the Struggle against apartheid, while suspended ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema had not lifted a finger and did not understand what the party stood for. <\/p>\n
This was the message yesterday as KwaZulu-Natal\u2019s senior ANC leaders used the party\u2019s centenary celebrations in Zululand to defend party president Zuma from attack by Malema, who recently labelled him a dictator. <\/p>\n
President Zuma yesterday attended two events in Esikhawini township in Empangeni, officiating at the unveiling of a heroes\u2019 arch, which was built to honour those people who were killed during political violence on the North Coast and also addressing <\/p>\n
the centenary celebrations, which were held there. <\/p>\n
KwaZulu-Natal ANC chairman and premier Zweli Mkhize spoke strongly against the \u201cundisciplined youth\u201d who were causing problems for the party. Without mentioning Malema by name, Mkhize drew comparisons between Malema and Zuma. <\/p>\n
\u201cZuma understood the need for discipline in his youth. He would raise issues and engage (with others in the party) correctly. This was not because he was a coward, but because he was disciplined and had seen action in the Struggle for liberation. <\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the people who are causing us problems today did not even raise their finger during the Struggle because they were not there. It is clear that the ANC has been joined by people who do not understand what the party is all about,\u201d he said, in apparent reference to Malema, who was temporarily suspended by the party\u2019s national disciplinary committee last week for calling Zuma a dictator. <\/p>\n
While the ANC has put a lid on the succession debate, Mkhize did indicate who he thought KZN would prefer to lead the party after its elective conference to be held at Mangaung later this year. <\/p>\n
Mkhize, who was once fingered in a leaked intelligence report as being among people allegedly plotting to have Zuma removed as president, said KZN was proud of Zuma. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat is why we elected you as the president of the ANC, and if another opportunity to do so arises, we will not miss it\u2026 No matter what critics say, Nxamalala (Zuma\u2019s praise name), we\u2026 believe in your leadership,\u201d Mkhize said. <\/p>\n
Zuma also received support from Transport Minister S\u2019bu Ndebele, a member of the ANC\u2019s national executive committee. <\/p>\n
Ndebele triggered angry reaction from KZN ahead of the 2007 Polokwane conference for suggesting that former president Thabo Mbeki should have a third term as ANC president. Yesterday, however, he led the capacity crowd in singing songs in support of Zuma. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in his address, Zuma sought to avoid the controversy that has pitted the party\u2019s youth league against the ANC leadership, focusing instead on the characteristics of the ANC which have enabled it to survive for 100 years. He said the ANC had done what it set out to do when it was established: that is, to deliver freedom to the majority of South Africans. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe celebrate this achievement when we mark the 100 years of the founding of the ANC,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Also in apparent reference to the charges faced by Malema, Zuma said ANC members were duty-bound not to do things that sought to divide the organisation. <\/p>\n
\u201cANC members have a lot of respect. We even respect our political enemies and we do not hurl insults at them. If you do so, you are besmirching the good name of the ANC and chasing people away from it,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
INLSA Watched by ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairman Zweli Mkhize (right), president Jacob Zuma has Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele in stitches at a celebration of the ANCs centenary in Zululand, KZN. Jacob Zuma had been a disciplined ANC member in his youth during the Struggle against apartheid, while suspended ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema had not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[8275,953,2143],"class_list":{"0":"post-9790","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-durban","8":"tag-newspaper","9":"tag-the-mercury","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9790\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}