The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) says former KwaZulu-Natal premier Willies Mchunu is welcome to join their fold if he chooses.
Mchunu, in a letter to the ANC, announced on Friday that he was resigning as a member, saying the formation of the government of national unity (GNU) and government of provincial unity (GPU) had led him to believe that he could no longer add value to the party.
The former premier and South African Communist Party (SACP) leader said that he believed that the ANC should not have entered into a coalition to form the GNU and he was hurt by the criticism he received when he raised this view within the party.
Mchunu on Sunday told “The Mercury” that ANC leaders have started engagements with him to debate the reasons for his resignation. He said his branch had not yet officially accepted his letter.
There had been a rumour that Mchunu may join the MKP, but he has not commented on this.
MKP spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela on Sunday said they would “welcome a person of the former Premier’s stature into the party if that's what he chooses to do”.
“MK is for all South Africans that are loyal to the country and who want to see change.
“We have taken note of what the former Premier has said in terms of the GNU and the ANC aligning themselves to that coalition...he does not believe the ANC should have aligned itself with that grouping.”
Ndhlela said Mchunu’s sentiments were shared by many others.
“Within the ANC, they're frustrated with the so-called GNU because they know there's no such thing,” Ndhlela said.
Mchunu said he had been approached by senior comrades who did not agree with his decision to resign.
He said his ANC Ward 33 Branch, in Glenmore “has not as yet processed my resignation, meaning, technically, I'm still an ANC member because it has not been approved as yet”.
Mchunu said his criticism of the GNU at a national level was because they had left out the MKP, the third biggest party in government.
“I said that if we are deliberately leaving them out, then I don't think that is unity...that is not a government of national unity. That's my criticism.
“It seems to me that it can be interpreted as a ganging up of smaller parties against a party that enjoys more support. As a principle, I do not support that government; I do not support that as a good recipe for a democratic government.”
Mchunu said the MKP achieved almost half of the votes in KZN but were not running the provincial government.
“They may not have won (the legislature majority), but people have shown in their numbers that that is the party they prefer to lead the government. That's my interpretation and that interpretation is obviously at odds with some in the ANC.”
Mchunu said he cannot force the ANC to change their views on what a GNU should be.
“I have no authority to dare to do that and I must now decide whether to stay within the ANC and tolerate that situation.
“I can say that it's not what I support...but I can't be a nuisance within the ANC, where I wake up every day to be critical of where the party is,” Mchunu said.
Political analyst Zakhele Ndlovu of the University of KwaZulu-Natal compared Mchunu’s resignation with that of party veteran Mavuso Msimang, who this year rescinded his earlier decision to leave the party.
“It is disappointing because it seems like he wants to draw attention to himself whereas he should retire and leave these issues behind.”
The Mercury