Johannesburg – Zwelinzima Vavi has downplayed the importance of a meeting between himself and Democratic Alliance leader, Mmusi Maimane.
The Sunday Times reported that the official opposition had been courting Vavi.
The paper claimed Maimane and Vavi met at a Johannesburg hotel on February 1 to discuss forming a coalition government in the highly contested Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the Eastern Cape should the ANC fail to win an outright majority there.
Vavi, speaking to News24 on Sunday, said that the report was an outright effort to “sell newspapers”.
“There was a meeting between myself and Mmusi Maimane after it became obvious that no one would win the elections outright in the Nelson Mandela Bay,” he said.
“He came to me and said 'Can we explore a coalition with the United Front', to which I said, 'Go and speak to them'. That is the simple truth,” he said.
Jacaranda News tweeted that Vavi said he did not know who had leaked the information about the meeting.
Efforts to contact Maimane were unsuccessful at the time of publishing.
According to the report, which cited DA insiders, the party was prepared to offer Vavi the post of deputy mayor if his newly-formed United Front won a sizeable number of wards and helps to reduce the ANC's majority to under 50% on August 3.
Link
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/vavi-downplays-da-courtship-claims-20160424
The Sunday Times reported that the official opposition had been courting Vavi.
The paper claimed Maimane and Vavi met at a Johannesburg hotel on February 1 to discuss forming a coalition government in the highly contested Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the Eastern Cape should the ANC fail to win an outright majority there.
Vavi, speaking to News24 on Sunday, said that the report was an outright effort to “sell newspapers”.
“There was a meeting between myself and Mmusi Maimane after it became obvious that no one would win the elections outright in the Nelson Mandela Bay,” he said.
“He came to me and said 'Can we explore a coalition with the United Front', to which I said, 'Go and speak to them'. That is the simple truth,” he said.
Jacaranda News tweeted that Vavi said he did not know who had leaked the information about the meeting.
Efforts to contact Maimane were unsuccessful at the time of publishing.
According to the report, which cited DA insiders, the party was prepared to offer Vavi the post of deputy mayor if his newly-formed United Front won a sizeable number of wards and helps to reduce the ANC's majority to under 50% on August 3.
Link
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/vavi-downplays-da-courtship-claims-20160424