Beware the neo-colonialists ‘who sing and dance like we do’ – Duarte

The ANC should not allow the country to be led by neo-colonialists who looked like they were revolutionaries, ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte has said.

“Let us be careful comrades, these neo-liberals and neo-colonialists are singing and dancing like we do, but we know that in their private meetings they want to take this country backwards. Theirs is to protect the interests of the minority,” Duarte said in a veiled attack on the DA.

Duarte was addressing thousands of ANC members who packed the Motherwell Stadium, in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, today to celebrate the provincial 101st anniversary rally of the ruling party.

She also called on party members to organise the movement in the branches and make sure that it was healthy and strong ahead of next year’s general elections.

Turning to economic freedom, Duarte said party members needed to rally behind the National Development Plan adopted in Mangaung and championed by President Jacob Zuma.

“We must be fully behind the NDP and make sure that it is fully implemented in order to change the living conditions of our people,” Duarte said.

Duarte also called on government to speed up the process of land redistribution and said the 1913 Land Act had contributed to the socio-economic challenges that faced the majority of the people in this country.

The celebrations in the Eastern Cape followed hot on the heels of the party’s 101st anniversary rally in Durban last week, addressed by party president Jacob Zuma who called for unity in the organisation following a bruising Mangaung conference.