Former President Thabo Mbeki Says Collapse of the ANC Will Be the Demise of South Africa

• Thabo Mbeki, the former president of the African National Congress visited the Free State province in a bid to unify the ruling party
• Mbeki had a number of warnings for the ANC leaders and stated that should the ANC fail the whole country would also fail
• Some South Africans do not agree with Mbeki's warning and have added that the ANC will fail because of the ANC cadres

JOHANNESBURG - Former President Thabo Mbeki has been deployed to the Free State province over the weekend to try to reconcile the African National Congress. The ruling party is facing numerous challenges that have led to the creation of factions within the party.

Mbeki had clear warnings for ANC leaders and members about what would happen to South Africa should the ruling party collapse. According to Mbeki, the ANC's collapse could lead to the demise of the country, making it ungovernable.

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“If the ANC collapsed today, ceased to exist, this country would become ungovernable simply because of the influence of the party," said Mbeki.

Mbeki went on to address the leader of the ANC, telling them that they needed to fix the problems of the ANC because that is what they owe the nation, reports TimesLIVE.

Mbeki further stated that it is the ANC leaders' responsibility to bring about stability of the political organisation because the ANC makes up all structures of governance.

Mbeki speaks on support for Ramaphosa's second term

Adding to the discussion of unity and renewal of the ANC, Mbeki stated that the talks and support of President Cyril Ramaphosa's second term as the ANC president should not be the topic of discussion, reports IOL.

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Mbeki says by focusing on supporting Ramaphosa's second term, ANC leaders are losing focus of the challenges within the country that they need to deal with. He added that the ANC needs to behave itself and prioritise service delivery.

"People are saying second term. It's a trap. If we take that route, then we will be preoccupied with who supports one, and forget about important national challenges,” Mbeki said.

South Africans have opposing views on Mbeki's sentiments

Some social media users were not in agreement with Mbeki's sentiment that South Africa will fail if the ANC collapses. However, some people stated that they agreed with the former president.

Here are some comments below:

@skopeesh said:

"It would be ungovernable because of what his party cadres are doing. They feel entitled to lead us despite us not voting for them to govern. So democracy is only democracy if they're in charge otherwise it's threats left right and centre like this message from Mbeki."

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@KgosiMfalme said:

"This is scary coming from such a respected leader & intellectual. The country is already ungovernable. We are heading towards a failed state and ANC has contributed immensely to our state of affairs. Perhaps ANC needs to make a decision and close the party just like NP did."

@HlenganiHarry said:

"True. It is ANC that liberated us from the hands of apartheid and if it collapses, South Africa will be in big trouble. Our economy will also collapse. Other small parties are just mickey mouse with nothing but to point fingers at others."

@grant_masterson said:

"Many a liberation movement have suffered under this delusion. Zambia, Kenya Nigeria etc. Life goes on. Pure hubris unjustified by facts or context. Some of these parties/movements have ceased to exist. C'est la vie!"

Tito Mboweni calls Thabo Mbeki out for referring to South Africa as a “nation”, says country is divided

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Briefly News previously reported that former finance minister Tito Mboweni shared a highly opinionated response to something he heard from former SA president Thabo Mbeki. According to Mboweni, Mbeki referred to Mzansi as a "nation".

Mboweni believes that the former president was wrong in calling South Africa a nation and should have rather said the country is a "nation in formation". Mboweni spoke about a divide he believes is still prevalent in SA.

The former governor of the South African Reserve Bank stated that although the people of SA occupy the same geographic location, the country is still not a nation. He added that he is willing to debate his comments.

Source: Briefly News