Pretoria 12 Sep (ANA) - South Africa's former President Kgalema Motlanthe has said that it would be good for his party, the ANC, to lose the next election in 2019 in order for it to renew itself. "But that will take lots of courage and failing that it has to hit rock bottom. It has to lose elections for the penny to drop," he told the BBC's Hardtalk programme. It would be good for the ANC itself [to lose] and let me tell you why. Because those elements who are in it for the largesse will quit it, will desert it and only then would the possibility arise for salvaging whatever is left of it." Mr Motlanthe has long been a critic of President Jacob Zuma and the alleged corruption within the ANC and has called on the leadership to step down. He served as president between 2008 and 2009, making way for Mr Zuma after the 2009 elections.(ANA)

FA/ANA/12 September 2017-----