Sunday Tribune

Cope saga shows ANC ‘is in a sorry state’

SAMKELO MTSHALI samkelo.thulasizwe@inl.co.za

ALLEGATIONS that former and current leaders of the ANC were involved in the formation of the Congress of the People (Cope) are reflective of the organisation that the ANC had become, a shadow of its former self and in a sorry state.

This is the assertion of the ANC’S Tripartite Alliance partner Cosatu, amid allegations that some senior members of the ruling party orchestrated the formation of Cope, a splinter group from the ANC, in the wake of former president Jacob Zuma’s defeat of Thabo Mbeki in the ANC presidential race at its 52nd National Elective Conference in Polokwane in December 2007.

The landmark allegations were by media personality and television presenter Dr Onkgopotse “JJ” Tabane, who claimed that senior ANC members,

including former ANC president Mbeki, former finance ministers Trevor Manuel and Tito Mboweni and current Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana were involved in the 2008 formation of Cope.

The allegations have seen Manuel this week electing to take legal action against Tabane who has also refused to apologise to Manuel over the allegations. Cosatu’s national spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla, told the Sunday Tribune that the allegations were not only in relation to Cope, as there were leaders of the ANC who had fraternised with the EFF, too.

Pamla said: “There are leaders of the ANC at all levels who have failed to distinguish between themselves and the EFF and other political formations.” Pamla added: “The ANC is in a sorry state, and it needs to figure out how it is going to proceed, going forward.

“Hopefully the upcoming conference in December can be that opportunity and it can reflect on where it finds itself, especially because it was supposed to be the ‘Decade of the Cadre’ from 2012 to 2022.”

This week Manuel took exception to Tabane’s allegations, which he made on a podcast titled Hustlers Corner by DJ Sbu on Youtube last month, saying that he would institute legal proceedings against Tabane.

Manuel said: “JJ made this outlandish allegation that I was part of the formation of Cope. It is so patently untrue. I just find it completely bizarre, but I invite JJ Tabane to recant his statement and he refuses.

“It’s for my integrity that I will stand and it’s on that basis that I’ve asked him to recant his statement and he refuses to do that and he leaves me no choice (but to go to court).”

Tabane has in the meanwhile roped in Zuma’s lawyer, Eric Mabuza, to represent him.

Siyabulela Gebe, spokesperson for Mbeki’s foundation, said that the former head of state was not going to embark on any course of action against Tabane, whether to solicit an apology from him or take legal action.

ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said that the matter was not on the agenda of the ANC and that if Cosatu wanted to discuss it they could do so at the Alliance Secretariat.

Former finance minister Tito Mboweni did not answer his phone or respond to questions sent to him via text, while Godongwana’s spokesperson, Mashudu Masutha-rammutle, acknowledged receipt of the Sunday questions but had not

at the time of going to

METRO

en-za

2022-05-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://sundaytribune.pressreader.com/article/281590949163604

African News Agency