On ‘Politricking with Tshidi Madia’, Fikile ‘Mr Fixit’ Mbalula speaks to his political aspirations and what the celebration has learnt since 2017.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula throughout a media briefing on Monday, 24 October 2022. Picture: Fikile Mbalula/Eyewitness News.
JOHANNESBURG – “For me, its renewal or death.” That’s what African National Congress (ANC) nationwide government committee member and head of elections Fikile Mbalula repeats usually when pondering on the celebration’s destiny forward of the much-anticipated 2024 general elections.
“It’s renewal or death for me, in terms of the ANC. Whether I assume a position of secretary general or I am part of the collective, its renewal or death. If we don’t renew or do things differently, we will perish,” says Mbalula.
Mbalula, who can be transport minister, arrived late – as anticipated – at Primedia Place. His larger-than-life character stuffed the studio as quickly as he walked in for his dialog with Politricking with Tshidi Madia.
The flamboyant “Mr Razzmatazz” AKA “Mbaks” is as soon as once more eyeing the engine of the organisation, similar to in 2012, when he gunned for the place of secretary general. This time, he’s older has taken just a few extra knocks within the political realm and gained expertise as a frontrunner serving in nationwide authorities.
This is a job, which comes with blue lights and an extended record of different perks, he claims he’s prepared to forgo to turn out to be a full time deployee of the ANC at its Luthuli House headquarters.
He’s frowned upon society and members of the celebration who look down at anybody prepared to let go of the federal government advantages to work at Luthuli House, the place staffers have, at occasions, gone for months with out pay.
“It shows how the political standing and authority have been eroded over the years, to a point that its insignificant, it can only be associated with material benefits for an individual, blue lights versus when you are at Luthuli house and can drive yourself. Yet you are the engine and it is the political centre, you are the overall administrative and political engine of the ANC,” mentioned Mbalula.
While he insists he isn’t placing his hand up, but it surely as a substitute rose “organically” as members mentioned future leaders, he does consider he’s as much as the duty, dismissing any nothing that he fizzled from an inventory of those that could lead on the ANC following his failed tried to run the secretary general’s workplace in 2012.
We have by no means been exterior the primary political area of ANC affairs.
Fikile Mbalula
He counts his obligations in each the ANC the place he’s the celebration’s head of election campaigns when the nation votes for new management at each nationwide and provincial in addition to native authorities. He’s additionally held at the least three authorities portfolios – he was answerable for policing earlier than the 2019 general elections, with the sports activities and recreation being the primary ministry he spearheaded.
Mbalula insists he has carried out properly within the completely different roles, rubbishing criticism of his dealing with of points round South Africa’s roads.
I’ve been a minister now for three years or two and a half years, and after I arrived on the division of transport, it was one of many departments that was pretty within the backseat and within the periphery and [had] various challenges that confronted the division. Yet it’s the spine and the engine of the economic system. The driver’s license [issue] was utterly in shambles and in tatters and there was no coverage that regulated rail when it comes to what must occur once we discuss shifting items from highway to rail. We have achieved that.
Fikile Mbalula
On the flipside, Mbalula who steers ANC campaigns, didn’t wish to take credit score for driving the governing celebration by means of its continued downward trajectory on the polls. In this case, he says blame can’t be apportioned to him alone, however he does insist the ANC clawed again assist when confronted with potential dying within the earlier nationwide polls.
We have arrested the ANC from political obliteration and the years of restoration are forward of us, whether or not or not we’d have failed, solely 2024 would be the choose.
Fikile Mbalula
While Mbalula has fierce criticism for former ANC leaders, together with former president Thabo Mbeki and former ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe, he says this can not equate to the interval when the ANC closed ranks round former president Jacob Zuma over his Nkandla saga. He additionally says the ANC shouldn’t be digging in its heels however is looking on its veterans to utilize inside avenues to boost points they’ve with the celebration and its present president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Former leaders have weighed in on the Phala Phala farm theft saga, with Mbeki calling on the ANC to arrange for the potential of the allegations claiming Ramaphosa’s profession and Motlanthe saying the president needed to take the nation into his confidence and are available clear on what really transpired. Ramaphosa is accused of failing to report the theft of hundreds of thousands of undisclosed international forex, which is believed to have been stuffed inside furnishings at his Limpopo saga.
Perhaps it’s unfair of them, they shouldn’t be complaining with the remainder of society… as a result of they’re empowered, first by historical past, by advantage, that they don’t have anything to lose. They don’t wish to be presidents, except they wish to contest.
Fikile Mbalula
“We’ve been here before,” says Mbalula on ANC presidents going through challenges whereas in workplace.
Mbalula additionally insists there isn’t any try by any of the ANC’s buildings to shut rank however as a substitute calling for decorum and precept to be noticed.
We fumbled. I used to be a kind of who was fumbling in the dead of night, defending and defending. We fumbled and fumbled. That won’t ever occur once more.
Fikile Mbalula
“Closing ranks means concealing the truth and saying it must not be spoken of. None of us have said that. None of us have said the truth must not be spoken,” says Mbalula on former leaders making public feedback.
He additionally claims the ANC shouldn’t be the identical organisation it was when the Nkandla scandal, over non-security upgrades at Zuma’s house, broke out.
We mismanaged the dealing with of that saga, we learnt from Nkandla.
Fikile Mbalula
Nkandla went by means of its processes. We had the Public Protector, to begin with. She got here and mentioned ‘pay a bit bit, however you, president, you aren’t accountable for this’. We caught in our heels, the general public protector was attacked. Then we opened an unconstitutional processes, an ad-hoc committee that went to Nkandla and mentioned a swimming pool is a fireplace pool. We had been lambasted by the Constitutional Court. [It] delivered that scathing [judgment], I used to be heading elections, we acquired 62%, dropped from 65%, scathing… two weeks earlier than the votes and lambasted and the president was mentioned to have acted exterior and we went on to defend. We didn’t hear, the elders, society in general… We won’t go that approach with Phala Phala.
Listen to extra from Mbalula, who touched on his personal losses and what he calls the maturation of members because the final elective convention in 2017.