Johannesburg - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is telling lies about South Africa's economy and he must stop, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said on Tuesday.
Mantashe said he lodged a formal complaint in a telephonic conversation with his counterpart in Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF for Mugabe to stop making "unwarranted and unfortunate attacks" on former president Nelson Mandela's legacy.
He is the first South African leader to chastise Mugabe for his reported comments.
Mugabe is quoted as having said Mandela cherished his personal freedom over the economic freedom of his people, which is why in South Africa, "everything is in whites' hands".
"What was the most important thing for [Mandela] was his release from prison and nothing else. He cherished that freedom more than anything else and forgot why he was put in jail," Mugabe is reported to have said, in comments translated by news website NewZimbabwe.com.
Read more: Mandela 'forgot why he was in jail… that's why everything in SA is in whites' hands' - Mugabe