Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the multi-party coalition agreement known as the “moonshot pact” as a mere “sideshow”.
According to News24, during his visit to the ANC’s Johannesburg region over on Saturday, as part of his party’s national working committee tour of Gauteng, Ramaphosa, in his role as ANC president, rejected the coalition agreement supported by the DA, ActionSA, IFP, and Freedom Front Plus.
He asserted that his party was poised to achieve an outright majority in the upcoming 2024 elections.
This week the DA, ActionSA, IFP, and Freedom Front Plus, along with smaller formations, created a coalition pact aiming to unseat the ANC by forming a coalition government if they collectively surpass 50% of the vote.
However, President Ramaphosa dismissed the coalition pact as a “sideshow” and expressed confidence that the ANC would secure an outright majority due to its extensive reach and support among the South African population.
“Parties that want to, as they say, unseat the ANC – it’s a sideshow to us.
“There’s no organisation that has as much reach to the people of South Africa as the ANC has. That is why we are confident in saying we are working for [electoral] victory. So, this issue of a defeatist approach – that we are going to be in coalitions – is far from our thinking,” the report quoted Ramaphosa as saying.
[WATCH] ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa engages the media ahead of his national working committee visit to assess the state of readiness for next year’s elections. This morning he is at the Turffontein Racecourse meeting with the greater Johannesburg region. @SundayTimesZA pic.twitter.com/aTMefIWHxF
— Amanda Khoza – The Journalist (@MandaKhoza) August 19, 2023
Ramaphosa also mentioned plans for the national government to take a more active role in local government service delivery following concerns about failures in implementation at the local level.
This move comes after a cholera outbreak in Tshwane was attributed to inadequate water treatment infrastructure.
He indicated that the national government would use legislative measures to enhance collaboration with local governments and improve people’s lives.
The ANC’s visit to the Gauteng province was prompted by concerns of potentially losing the province, which had a narrow one-seat majority after the 2019 elections.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu