Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana has warned political parties not to separate former President Nelson Mandela from the African National Congress (ANC).
He said Mandela belonged to the ANC and was part of the leadership of the party that crafted its policies many years ago.
He said no distinction should be made between Mandela and the ANC.
Godongwana made the remarks during the debate on the Budget in Parliament on Tuesday.
This was after political parties accused the ANC of moving away from the principles and policies of Mandela.
But Godongwana said this was far from the truth. The ANC was on course to implementing the Ready to Govern document that was crafted in the early 1990s before the first democratic elections in 1994.
The ANC was still pursuing the same policies that its former leader implemented when he was in power, between 1994 and 1999.
The ANC has not deviated from what Mandela espoused, he said.
“There is a tendency to contrast Mandela with the ANC. I don’t know where does this thing come from. Where does this thing come from, because the ANC is still continuing and pursuing Mandela’s project? And that project was crafted in the Ready to Govern document in the 1990s and we are on course in pursuing that project. We have not at all moved away from that document.
“There is a tendency to distinguish people from the party as if this party does not belong to Mandela. This party belongs to Mandela. Of course, like all other parties which are in government, we do have our own shortfalls and mistakes. As the ruling party, we will have mistakes. It’s only people who do something, who make mistakes.
“South Africans are aware, as we go to May 29, what is faction and what is fact. What is a dream and what is a reality. We have got a footprint and track record of running this country on a sustainable basis. I think, as we go to the elections, South Africans will be aware of that track record,” said Godongwana.
The ANC has previously raised this debate when it accused the official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) of trying to appropriate Mandela’s name for its own purposes.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics