By Celani Sikhakhane
- The former ANC mayor says the party now uses state power to crush opponents just like the apartheid government did.
- ANC hits back saying Mthethwa was told to step aside due to corruption claims from his time as Jozini mayor.
A long-serving ANC leader has quit the party, claiming it now uses the same dirty tricks as the apartheid government. He has joined the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK).
Ndodephethe Bethwell Mthethwa, who served as Jozini mayor and was the longest-serving ANC regional chairperson in Mkhanyakude, told Scrolla.Africa he left because the ANC no longer stands up for poor black people.
“The ANC has turned into a new version of the National Party because its top leadership are doing what the NP did to black people by using state organs to fight those whom they view as political threats.
“This is what they do whenever the organisation is heading to its elective conferences. They make sure that the state organs are used to destroy their internal political opponents, which was the style of the National Party during apartheid,” said Mthethwa.
He said he had no choice but to leave as the ANC had stopped being a movement for black people. Mthethwa believes money has destroyed the ANC, with party conferences being rigged.
He claims the party no longer has proper structures but rather bogus ones used only for elections.
“Whoever takes the deployment only aims to change the lives of those close to him and himself. It is the version of the National Party which is being disguised as a liberation movement,” said Mthethwa.
He said the ANC’s decision to work with the DA in coalitions was a betrayal of poor black voters.
Mthethwa previously served in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature and chaired the transport portfolio committee.
However, ANC KZN secretary Bheki Mtolo said they were glad to see him go.
“His departure comes when he remains under the shadow of serious corruption and fraud allegations stemming from his tenure as mayor of the Jozini Local Municipality. Mthethwa, previously a member of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee (PEC), had been instructed to step aside in line with the ANC’s unwavering commitment to ethical leadership and the fight against corruption,” said Mtolo.
Mtolo added that this step-aside rule meant Mthethwa could not participate in ANC activities until he cleared his name.
Pictured above: Former ANC mayor Ndodephethe Bethwell Mthethwa quits ANC and describes it as a new version of the National Party.
Source: Supplied
