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President Jacob Zuma

CAPE TOWN. — South African President Jacob Zuma on Saturday accused certain Western countries of destabilising the ruling African National Congress.President Zuma told ANC supporters at a rally in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga Province that western countries have been using ANC members to further their agenda, adding that some ANC members have been captured by Western countries.“Western powers want to remove the ANC because they do not want the ANC to develop relations with those countries which helped the party in the anti-apartheid struggle,” he said without identifying the Western countries.

President Zuma was speaking amid a growing split within the ANC. Some ANC veterans recently joined calls for him to resign, citing his alleged involvement in corruption scandals. President Zuma claimed that those speaking out against him and the ANC had been bought by those clinging on to control of the economy.

“In all other countries, the majority controls everything from politics, economy and defence . . . It’s only in this country (South Africa) where we don’t have economic freedom. “It’s controlled by the minority and those who oppressed us,” he noted. “That is why they are scared that we will take away this economy. They want to take away the strength of the ANC because they know the ANC is the only organisation trying to balance the scales,” President Zuma said.

The president also said South Africa would not abandon those who helped the ANC.

“Socialist countries like Russia and China helped the ANC, giving it military training and aid during the anti-apartheid struggle,” President Zuma said.

“The socialist countries came to our aid. It was Russia who trained us and helped us with the tools to fight. China and other socialist countries helped us,” said Zuma.

He said Western countries dislike South Africa after it joined the BRICS, an acronym for emerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

“They are fighting us because we joined BRICS. Some are in ANC gear but are in the company of the West. We are at war. We are going to protect the ANC,” he said.

In his eyes, BRICS had interfered with the global balance of forces, and Western countries “did not like BRICS”. Meanwhile, South African opposition parties yesterday urged President Zuma to report acts of corruption after he said he knows who is stealing public funds.

Since coming to power in 2009, President Zuma has survived a string of corruption scandals almost unscathed, but this month the country’s anti-graft watchdog called for a judicial inquiry into allegations of influence-peddling in the ANC government.

President Zuma, in a bid to cement support in his home province of Kwazulu-Natal, on Friday told supporters in Zulu: “I know they are stealing. I’m just watching them. I know them,” local media reported. — AFP.