ANC rejects dictatorship claims
2006-05-29 15:58
Johannesburg - The African National Congress on Monday defended President Thabo Mbeki's leadership style, saying it rejected outright assertions that he was drifting towards dictatorship.
"Statements about tendencies towards dictatorship and the centralisation of powers within the ANC and government presidencies... are not borne out by reality," ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe told a news briefing in Johannesburg.
"Unless properly rebutted, these statements may cause confusion and uncertainty among the membership of the alliance and among the broader public."
Motlanthe said the ANC would seek a meeting with its alliance partners, the SA Communist Party and Congress of Trade Unions (Cosatu), to clarify these statements.
Division
"It will do so better to understand the views of these alliance structures to clearly communicate the positions of the ANC and ultimately to strengthen the alliance as a unified and coherent force capable of leading the process of national democratic transformation."
He was speaking after a weekend ANC national executive committee meeting, which rejected as "without foundation" perceived notions of a division among senior ANC leaders.
He said its deputy president Jacob Zuma attended the meeting, but recused himself when the aftermath of his rape trial was discussed.
Last week Cosatu leader Zwelinzima Vavi said the main fears of the Cosatu central executive committee (CEC) centred on signs of a drift towards dictatorship.
Vavi said the CEC was concerned about a combination of processes being used to marginalise opposition.
"Examples include the decision to pull a film said to be critical of the president (Thabo Mbeki) off the SABC
the use of public institutions, including the NPA (national prosecuting authority) against Jacob Zuma, the purging of an allegedly pro-Zuma faction in the security services the arrest of Cosatu leaders at the Swaziland border and in Cape Town and the heavy handed nature of the police dealings with protests."
- SAPA