Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule became the party’s Icarus who flew too close to the sun when he was hit by a double whammy from the reform wing at the party’s national executive committee (NEC) weekend meeting.
His campaign to avoid stepping aside from his position not only failed, but he has also been instructed to publicly apologise to the ANC for his attempt to suspend President Cyril Ramaphosa on 4 May.
He is the first ANC top six leader to be told to publicly apologise or face a misconduct charge, which could result in expulsion for bringing the party into disrepute.
Magashule reached the apogee of his power when he was appointed party secretary-general in 2017, a top dog role he had coveted for years. But, like the figure of Greek mythology Icarus, whose wings came apart when the wax keeping them together melted when he ignored advice to keep it humble and fly below the sun, Magashule has tumbled, too.
In return for the blow struck for reform, Ramaphosa has had to concede that the country’s land reform programme is taking too long. The party’s grandé and lawyer Mathews Phosa has been appointed to chair a task team to guide the amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution, which provides for land expropriation without compensation.
Land reform and its slow pace could become Ramaphosa’s sword of Damocles as he faces two big party events he must get through to win a second presidential term.
These are a national general council and an elective conference in 2022, where senior officials say he is likely to have to run off against other candidates. There is a groundswell of opinion in the party that land reform is too slow and the draft law on land expropriation is too anaemic. On the other hand, land expropriation is like a red flag to the business community, whose support Ramaphosa needs to drive economic recovery.
The constitutional amendment on expropriation is before Parliament and is one of the most contested pieces of law in South Africa’s history. It sets out the process under which expropriation can happen.
The official NEC statement did not include Phosa’s task team but Ramaphosa announced it as he closed the keenly watched weekend NEC meeting. The team could recommend more robust measures than in current draft laws.
Magashule went on a media roadshow after his suspension on 3 May, saying that he was still the party’s secretary-general and that he would attend the weekend’s NEC meeting.
But he got booted off the Zoom call by the party’s IT team when he logged on along with others who were not part of the meeting on Saturday, 8 May. That set the tone for a meeting that, in the end, had tough words for Magashule.
“The NEC discussed the ‘letter of suspension’ written by the Secretary-General to the President for which (he) had no authority or mandate from any structure of the movement,” said Ramaphosa in his closing remarks.
“The NEC agreed that such conduct was completely unacceptable and a flagrant violation of the rules, norms and values of the ANC. The NEC furthermore instructed the officials to advise the Secretary-General to apologise publicly to ANC structures and members within a strict time frame.
“If he fails to do so, the ANC will institute disciplinary procedures in accordance with the ANC constitution.”
Ramaphosa has steadily built support for reform and for stronger action against corruption. At the weekend, the ANC Women’s League gainsaid its president Bathabile Dlamini’s efforts to throw its support behind Magashule’s campaign, as Qaanitah Hunter reported for News24. In addition, the party’s head of campaigns, Nomvula Mokonyane, has put her support behind Ramaphosa.
At the weekend meeting, she reportedly criticised fellow NEC member Tony Yengeni who publicly campaigned for Magashule across all major media ahead of the NEC meeting. The most decisive intervention came from the party’s chairperson and Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe, who was angered by Magashule’s midnight letter.
The suspended secretary-general has had his wings clipped by the terms of the step-aside rule. He has to step aside because he faces 74 counts of fraud, theft, corruption, money laundering and asbestos regulation contraventions, along with 15 co-accused, in the Bloemfontein High Court.
While Magashule will receive his full pay and benefits while suspended, he cannot represent the organisation publicly or in any forum; can’t make public pronouncements about the ANC and can’t mobilise ANC structures, organisations or individuals.
In addition, former president Kgalema Motlanthe will continue to hammer out a “political solution” in the divided Free State province – Magashule’s stronghold. The party’s national working committee will establish an interim structure before an elective conference is held.
This puts the kibosh on Magashule’s lieutenants in the province who wanted to take a Supreme Court of Appeal judgment, which dissolved the provincial leadership structure on appeal, to the Constitutional Court.
Magashule can appeal the party’s decision to suspend him to a committee chaired by ANC veteran leader Barbara Masekela, who sits with Josiah Jele, Daphney Nkosi, Johnny de Lange and Vusi Khanyile. They are all party veterans who are no-nonsense individuals. Or he can go to court to argue that his right to presumptive innocence is violated by the step-aside rule.
The ANC statement implied that its MP Bongani Bongo had also been suspended. The former state security minister told News24 last week that he would take the party to court if he was suspended. The principle applies to about 30 other party leaders and members who are also facing corruption or other serious charges.
Some had stepped aside while others would now receive suspension letters, said Ramaphosa.
“We must remember that the trust and support of the South African people should never be taken for granted,” said Ramaphosa as he closed the NEC meeting.
“For as long as we are divided as leadership, for as long as we fail to act against corruption, and unless we put the needs of our people first, we will struggle to restore the credibility of the ANC.” DM
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A step in the right direction. Ace being trumped. Will this become a real handbrake on the bad guys? The compromise on expropriation without compensation is regrettable. Proves the ANC are yet to understand the realities of getting the economy going. Need reality not 50 year old ideology.
The elephant in the room is that there WAS plenty of money for the “willing buyer, willing seller” method to be employed, thereby achieving effective redistribution without chasing direct foreign investment away. We’re now debt laden after all the theft, and the anc will do anything….
The financial market reacted well to what is hoped to become the first step of the anc government initiative to improved accountability. Yet, we will have to see what will happen if the market realises at what price the first step was taken.
Good charade, now where are the Asset forfeiture Unit? houses, cars, bank accounts, foreign deposits………..it looks as though MAHALA is still the ruling deity of the party
Well said! Let the games truly begin.
He is a man of straw. All stolen assets are nicely hidden in secret trusts . He laid he has nothing in
name. This on obnoxiouz clown like his boss Sultan Zuma should be locked out of the ANC and put on Robben Island.
Ace’s despicable behavior requires more than just stepping aside; a forcible public defenestration from the twelfth floor of Luthuli House would seem more appropriate. The organisation seem hell bent on minimizing the damage done with tired clichés of self-correction and introspection. Time’s up.
Another African “liberation” movement that has, and continues to, fail at anything and everything that requires honesty and integrity. ANC have stolen the coffers empty – too late to re-boot. We need a immediate changing of the guard as a final attempt at saving this country.
Cyril’s slow poison is starting to work, he gave Ace (and others) enough rope to hang himself. Lots of people doubted our President and said ‘too slow’, but considering how narrow his power base was when he came into power, his slow poison plan and power base improvement have proven very successful to date.
Cyril needs our support ( I am not an ANC supporter but have supported our President from day one) now more than ever.
hopefully the rest of the tenderpreneurs and fall like dominoes in time as well
the expropriation element is not ideal but must be handled carefully as it is a necessity to ‘balance the books’
Great article thanks. What can we do to motivate a motion that these crooks NOT receive their salaries while they are suspended?
we should rather help the ANC sustain his paid suspension for life. I’ll donate 🙂
I wonder if Magashule’s “Icarus” flight was at the suggestion of his apparent advisor Carl Niehaus?
The courts will not work. The ANC is a voluntary organization no different than if the disciplinary committee of a golf club suspends a member for breaching a club rule without a court case in sight.
“ The team could recommend more robust measures than in current draft laws.” referring to the EWC committee
CR famously made that comment about how a frog doesn’t notice if cooked slowly.
Have we swapped Ace for something worse in expropriation without compensation legislation?
All the letter-writers accusing the President of being “spineless” may now take their own bite of Ace’s humble pie, if you please.