Tokyo Sexwale, a prominent ANC politician turned business-person, has ended a nearly decade-long political exile, joining the ruling party’s Gauteng election campaign.
Sexwale, a former premier of Gauteng, fell out of active political life in 2013 after he was replaced by Lindiwe Sisulu as minister of human settlements in a cabinet reshuffle by former president Jacob Zuma. The previous year he had lost out to President Cyril Ramaphosa for the position of ANC deputy president.
His return to the campaign trail is part of the push by the ANC in SA’s economic hub to mobilise its voter base and inspire supporters to cast their ballots. This follows other party veterans such as former president Thabo Mbeki, deputy presidents Kgalema Motlanthe and David Mabuza who also campaigned for the party in the province at the weekend.
The governing party narrowly won the province by 50.19% in 2019, a dip from the 2014 results in which they amassed 53.59% of the votes.
A further decline in voter share in Gauteng, home to some of the country’s key economic sectors such as manufacturing, mining, and tourism, would be a blow to the ANC, which has governed the province since the inception of majority rule in 1994.
The ANC is also facing the threat of losing its electoral majority for the first time nationwide according to various polls, putting it in a position in which it would be forced to go into coalitions with other parties to remain in power.
Sexwale acknowledged the ANC was in trouble.
“When your father’s home is on fire you don’t ask questions, you take a bucket and you douse the flames. Then we can talk later what caused the problems,” he said.
Sexwale has also come out against the DA’s election campaign advert showing the burning of the SA flag.
The advert, launched on Sunday, shows the flag in the background, with the opening title “This election is about survival”. With the flag burning in the background, a voice-over says: “The ANC will lose the majority vote for the first time in 30 years, but will do anything to stay in power.”
As the flag goes into flames, the voice says any coalition of the ANC, EFF and MK will worsen corruption.
“Once you denigrate the flag whether physically or on social media then you are no longer a patriot ... anyone who denigrates the flag, disrespects our people,” said Sexwale.
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