Damage control for Mbeki, Zuma

2005-10-19 09:55

Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki and former deputy president Jacob Zuma are to submit a joint report within a week on the rift threatening the ANC.

"It's about the unity of the movement and dealing with current developments within the ANC," party spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said on Tuesday.

In addition, the party would embark on a nationwide roadshow to emphasise "the question of discipline and unity" within the movement.

"National Executive Committee (NEC) members in all nine provinces will go and explain further the NEC's statement. No time frame is stipulated," he said.

A NEC decision of September 9 called for unity and cohesion within the organisation and respect for the law and state institutions.

The initiative comes after some party members burnt ANC T-shirts, shouted insults about President Thabo Mbeki and shouted down ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial chairman S'bu Ndebele following the court appearance of Zuma on corruption charges in Durban on Tuesday last week.

Ngonyama said on Monday that the NEC had processes to deal with members' concerns and frustrations and the ANC would not tolerate actions which brought the organisation into disrepute.

- SAPA