ANC is sick but can still be cured, says David Mabuza

The ANC is sick, but still alive - and the party is recommitting to putting the needs of the people first.

This was the message from the party's deputy president David Mabuza to the community of Upington, in the Northern Cape, during a rally on Wednesday to commemorate the Upington 26.

"The ANC is alive, but I cannot attest to whether this is a good life," said a jovial Mabuza.

"Is the ANC helping? Is the ANC healthy or is the ANC sick?

"We are still wearing black, green and gold. That means the ANC is still alive, but I am not worried about the ANC sickness because that is curable. The ANC disease has been diagnosed again and again."

Mabuza then asked ANC members what they thought were the biggest challenges facing the party. Corruption, ill discipline and factionalism came up tops, and Mabuza concurred.

He asked people to be patient with the governing party in its delivery of services but was resolute that the “ANC disease” had to be cured.

"As we celebrate 108 years of existence, we commit ourselves to cure this disease of corruption, factionalism [and] ill discipline. We commit to serve our people because we can’t come this far and betray our people now," he said.

"We will deal with all the problems within the ANC. We are going to work for unity within the movement. We are going to deal with corruption and fight ill discipline."

Mabuza said the ANC had always emerged stronger from its problems.

"As the ANC we will correct all our mistakes, because we are a movement that can correct itself - but we can only correct ourselves after acknowledging these things. We hear and acknowledge our shortcomings. People need these to be fixed and we will fix them."

Despite its problems, he said the party should also acknowledge its strengths and victories. "We want to say the ANC is still alive. We might have had our own mistakes - we have stood up before you and accepted those mistakes - but we commit to deal with them.

"We are going to be impatient with corruption, ill discipline [and] factionalism. Those things must end.

"Progress and development is what we are going to focus on."