President Jacob Zuma on Saturday told members of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal to stop fighting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever the outcomes, that must be the end of the tensions in this province,\u201d said Zuma.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the 8th<\/sup> Provincial Conference in Pietermaritzburg, Zuma also re-emphasised the importance of branches, saying they were central to the ANC.<\/p>\n \u201cBranches are the basic units of the organisation and they constitute the primary vehicle through which the ANC mobilises and organises people behind its progressive agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n Zuma said the conference was a conference of the branches in KZN not a conference of leaders.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you talk about building the organisation, you must strengthen the branches because that is where the authority lies.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do it the other way around; we tell the branches what to do\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n In what sounded like confirmation that he wouldn\u2019t be returning for a third term Zuma said, \u201cI heard rumours that I am a liability, and I told them they don\u2019t know me. I am going back to my branch and exercise my right at the branch and you will find me there.<\/p>\n \u201cThat day you will realise that I am not a liability. I am in the ANC, I belong to a branch and I understand the tasks of a branch and I am going to come here as a branch member and a delegate.\u201d<\/p>\n Gatekeeping<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe will meet at the top, when you look around, I will be right there. How can a member of the ANC be a liability? I didn\u2019t join the ANC as the president, I was an ordinary cadre, a volunteer and so you can\u2019t refer to me as a liability.\u201d<\/p>\n He said, \u201cJust because someone has been holding a position and if he leaves the position you forget about the ANC. I will be a member of the ANC until I die and I will be active in the ANC until I die so I will always going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n He again warned against gatekeeping.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pulse of the ANC and its members can only be felt in the branches, not in leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n Zuma told delegates that no one was bigger than the organisation.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are comrades who fight [for positions] like there is no tomorrow. Comrades isolate others who are not close to them.\u201d<\/p>\n He said if delegates were honest with one another the organisation would be healthier.<\/p>\n \u201cContesting must be user friendly and whoever wins\u2026you must accept it,\u201d said Zuma.<\/p>\n He said he joined the ANC and not a person.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can say I am going to jail, you can lie and say that I am corrupt, I will hold on the movement\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Zuma pleaded with delegates to stop dividing the party.<\/p>\n \u201cSlates, divisions\u2026Are bad,\u201d said Zuma.<\/p>\n News24<\/a><\/p>\n Watch: Zuma wants stricter gun control in SA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on Zuma<\/h3>\n