WATCH | ANCYL's Collen Malatji slams 'push for black-only bloc' amid GNU talks

ANC Youth League (ANCYL) president Collen Malatji says some party members contesting the ANC's talks with the DA are seemingly advocating for a “black-only bloc” amid government of national unity (GNU) formation talks.

He said the ANC was in talks with the DA because it was not a racist party.

“[DA federal chairperson] Helen Zille has done a lot of scary things in the past. She has made racial comments and she must apologise. The DA have gone as far as burning the flag of South Africa. Those are the things that we need to stomach when we deal with a government of unity,” he said on Wednesday in an interview with SABC News.

“People who are [protesting] saying the DA is a racist political party sound like they are saying we need to build a black-only bloc and that is not what the ANC stands for.”

Malatji claimed the push from within the party against talks with the DA could be influenced by Jacob Zuma's MK Party.

“Zuma formed MK to erode the ANC base and take the ANC out of power for a regime change. We know he is one of the people playing an underground role to mobilise the people. If you check the people who are causing this disruption in the party, they are linked to Zuma,” Malatji said in an interview with the SABC.

Last week ANC members, including Zuma's daughter Thuthukile, protested outside the ANC NEC meeting in Boksburg on Thursday using the theme #NotWithTheDA.

“We are saying that as members of the ANC, we cannot support a coalition with a political party that represents the interests of white people. They have shown that they are against the core transformation agenda of the ANC. How do we form a GNU with a political party that represents white interests and burnt our flag?” Thuthukile said.

Malatji said anyone who doesn't believe in the “nonracial character” of the ANC should leave the party.

“The ANC stands for a nonracial society. We can't move out of our character to accommodate black people who are uniting against white people. We can't do that.

“We need to discipline our members; we can't run an organisation that lacks discipline.

“The ANC's principle to advance the building of a united democracy, a nonracial, non-sexist and prosperous nation, will be implemented when we collaborate with other parties.

“Anyone who doesn't believe in the nonracial character of the ANC must leave. And those that have been marching in the name of the ANC without engaging our structures, we'll engage with them. If they don't stop, we'll discipline them.”

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