By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
The African National Congress (ANC) must become humble and accept that it has lost power.
That is the advice from the party’s suspended ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule.
Magashule was speaking at the funeral of ANC stalwart Pule Mlambo on Saturday morning.
Mlambo was a former youth activist and an ANC staffer.
After the local government elections in November, the ANC lost power in all Gauteng’s metros, with opposition parties supporting the Democratic Alliance(DA).
If the ANC wanted to run Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni, he said, it should allow its regional leaders and councillors to negotiate a deal with opposition parties such as the EFF.
“If we say, REC (regional executive committee) Johannesburg, discuss with the EFF and other parties, I can tell you we can take Johannesburg tomorrow. It’s just a matter of time. It depends on how you engage people.”
Magashule also said the party must disavow factions if it is serious about renewal.
“If we want to renew the ANC, if we are factions, it means factions must forget about factions,”Magashule told mourners.
Comrades must work as comrades and comrades must look at merit and quality of leadership.
“We must extend our hands. I must extend my hand to the President of the ANC, comrade Cyril Ramaphosa. You must extend your hand to President Jacob Zuma. You must extend your hand to comrade Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe and others.”
Since his suspension from party activities last year, Magashule has mostly kept a low profile.
Just over a week ago, a meeting organised by an ANC structure in Limpopo was cancelled after Magashule was invited to attend.