DM168

ROAD TO ELECTIVE CONFERENCE

Game of Cronies: President Ramaphosa’s main political foes plotting a united front to oust him

Game of Cronies: President Ramaphosa’s main political foes plotting a united front to oust him
From left: Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu. (Photo: Gallo Images / Sowetan / Tsheko Kabasia) | Former minister of health Zweli Mkhize. (Photo: Gallo Images / Darren Stewart) | Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. (Photo: Gallo Images / Nelius Rademan)

Opposition in the ANC coalesces around former health minister Zweli Mkhize, with plans afoot for leading contenders Lindiwe Sisulu and Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to pull out of the race for the party presidency to avoid splitting the vote at the impending national conference in December.

As the ANC edges closer to its 55th national elective conference, word is that Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and former health minister Zweli Mkhize are considering banding together.

The three National Executive Committee (NEC) members are said to be discussing the possibility of only one of them competing with President Cyril Ramaphosa for the party’s presidency at the December conference.

An insider aligned to Sisulu said it would probably be Mkhize who was chosen, since he had the best chance of winning.

All supporters of Dlamini Zuma and Sisulu would vote for Mkhize. The tourism minister would be supported for the deputy presidency. Discussions are still under way about where Dlamini Zuma would fit in.

A source explained: “Zweli Mkhize wanted to announce his team with Lindiwe Sisulu as his number two, since there has been a need for a woman in the presidency and [because of] the simmering fallout between him and [ANC Treasurer-General Paul] Mashatile.

“They need a strong personality like Sisulu to push for the implementation of the ANC resolutions, which they believe she will do.”

Mkhize and Mashatile, who had been longtime allies, have fallen out over an interview published by Business Day in the past week. In the article, Mashatile is quoted as saying that allegations facing Ramaphosa about the burglary at his Phala Phala farm and Mkhize’s Digital Vibes scandal were “a dark cloud hanging over the party”.

An ANC KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) source said: “The discussions are ongoing and the structures are talking, but the matter around Mashatile’s stance has not been accepted by some because they feel that his comments to the media were opportunistic.”

Since Mkhize emerged as the main contender against the incumbent Ramaphosa for the ANC presidency, the former health minister has spent the past few months criss-crossing the country giving speeches, meeting ANC regions and lobbyists, and defending his role in the Digital Vibes saga.

In the past week, he spent hours listening to the plight of students at his alma mater, the University of KwaZulu-Natal (he studied medicine there in the 1970s, alongside the likes of Steve Biko).

Dozens of student activists warmed to him and pledged their loyalty to his campaign, with some addressing him as the “incoming president of the ANC”, and asking him not to abandon them and their struggles when he “assumes office”.

​​Although Mkhize has been given the nod for the presidency by the overwhelming majority of ANC structures in KwaZulu-­Natal, in the next few weeks he will have an uphill battle to convince sceptical ANC structures in the other eight provinces that he is the best man for the job.

He and his team say they will campaign until the final hour, when the more than 4,000 delegates to the conference cast their votes for the leadership of the party.

Mkhize said he was approached by ANC branches and other structures before the Digital Vibes scandal broke, asking him to contest the party presidency.

He said: “The conference of the ANC is about looking at the policies and looking at the leadership that will drive those policies.

“All that one can say is that the branches would have looked at the track record of my service to the ANC and government, and also looked at the challenges that the organisation is facing and [they] believe that I can make a contribution.”

He said he was seen as someone who could bring unity to the party: “… amongst those issues, the strongest outcry is the disunity in the party and factionalism, and because of my role in the past of being instrumental in uniting the party and in leading a united and strong ANC in the [KZN] ­province and being part of the national ­leadership.

“I think those that have raised or are ­concerned about the issue of unity have raised that.

“The second issue they have raised is that the ANC has good policies, but they are concerned about the implementation [of those policies]. That is the issue that I would like to bring to the table … to make an effort to ensure the implementation of the policies of the ANC…

“The ANC is still relevant to South Africa because it has a historic mission transforming this society. So, it is important to focus on electing a leadership that will be preoccupied with implementing those policies.”

Mkhize said he now believed that he had been targeted in the Digital Vibes scandal  because he was seen as the biggest threat to the incumbent president and his supporters.

“I have a problem with how the SIU [the Special Investigating Unit] tried to distort the situation to what it was not. By the time they met to interview me, they had made up their mind and had already written their report.

“We know this because immediately after they met with me, they leaked the report to the media and it was the same report they were to release later. They even distorted information to find me guilty at all costs.”


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How the other provinces stand

The ANC PECs of the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo have all backed Ramaphosa for a second term. KwaZulu-Natal was an exception, deciding instead to put Mkhize’s name forward – a snub to Dlamini Zuma, who enjoyed the support of her home province when she ran for the presidency in 2017.

The ANC in the Free State has announced no preference yet because its conference is only in the first week of December.

ANC Free State Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) spokesperson Oupa Khoabane said: “It is the branches [that] will determine who will be nominated, not the leadership.”

IPC convener and close Ramaphosa ally Mxolisi Dukwana is vying for the position of provincial chairperson, and will have to compete with suspended party Secretary-General Ace Magashule’s allies, Vusi Tshabalala and Premier Sisi Ntombela. Former Mangaung Mayor Thabo Manyoni is also in the running.

The Western Cape, too, has not yet held its conference, but the sense is that Cyril Ramaphosa is its preferred candidate. The largest region in the province, Dullah Omar, has backed him. The Boland region, on the other hand, has expressed its support for Sisulu. The provincial conference will be held next weekend.

Western Cape spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said: “What I can confirm thus far is that 88% of our branches qualified for the national conference, which is 263 branch delegates, and it’s the one of the largest delegations we have sent to conference, more than Free State and Northern Cape.

“On Tuesday, the province will publicly announce its nomination process.”

The Phala Phala saga

Although Ramaphosa seems to be leading the race, the outcome of Parliament’s inquiry into Phala Phala may affect his political future. Earlier this week, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula announced that she had granted an extension to the independent panel determining whether there is a case for his removal.

The extension meant that the matter would not be discussed in Parliament this year – paving the way for Ramaphosa to stand for a second term as ANC president. This was because the report is now set to be released at the end of November, with Parliament scheduled to go on recess the very next day.

However, after dissatisfaction from other parties, the parliamentary programming committee decided to push back the recess date to allow the report to be discussed by MPs on 6 December.

Mashatile, a contender for the deputy presidency, explained that the party was yet to discuss what would happen if there were adverse findings against Ramaphosa on Phala Phala.

While the country has been waiting with bated breath for the findings, the ANC is less perturbed about the possibility of an adverse outcome for Ramaphosa that could lead to his impeachment.

The party has not discussed a contingency plan for if he is booted out.

Mashatile believes that the  matter should be allowed to run its course. He told DM168: “We do not want to pre-empt processes. The National Executive Committee felt that we should wait because there is still an Integrity [Commission] as well.

“Let us wait for all those processes to be completed, then we will attend to the matter. We have no shortage of leaders in the ANC, so we have nothing to panic about.”

Mashatile was speaking on the sidelines of the Letsema campaign, which was held in Lichtenburg, North West, on Wednesday.

The party’s NEC had a weekend-long gathering last week to discuss a number of issues that needed to be finalised ahead of the national conference. The party also had an opportunity to discuss the Phala Phala affair, with some senior members demanding answers from Ramaphosa, others calling for his removal and allies defending him.

The ANC’s Integrity Commission has been un­­able to table a report on the matter. However, a leaked draft progress report mentions that the Phala Phala burglary has brought the organisation into disrepute.

Mashatile to oppose Ramaphosa?

Ramaphosa’s demise would not necessarily be a bad thing for Mashatile.

He seems to be the popular candidate for the deputy presidency as most provincial structures have endorsed him.

However, rumours have been doing the rounds that Mashatile might oppose Ramaphosa for the top spot in the party. If he does enter the fray, it could cause an upset for the president and his supporters.

Mashatile did, however, say that he would stay in the deputy presidency lane for now.

“I am staying where I am and, by the way, the nominations have not been made official, so when we open them we will see who is nominated for what and at that point they are going to ask me whether I am accepting,” he said.

“For now I said, look, if I am nominated, I will accept. I have not heard about other positions.

“[I will accept a nomination from the floor] depending on what is the reason for that. For now, let’s stick with what we think the branches are thinking, but I do not know because the envelopes are still being counted and, by the time we get to the conference, we will know what delegates want me to do.”

Mashatile has been wielding tremendous power at Luthuli House, occupying three of the positions in the party’s top six.

In addition to his treasurer-general post, Mashatile has been acting as secretary-general and deputy secretary-general since last year.

This followed the illness and death of Jessie Duarte, who was heading the secretary-general’s office after Magashule was suspended. Gwen Ramokgopa was brought in by the party in March to beef up the administrative capacity of the office. She is the coordinator of preparations for the national conference.

Mashatile said: “The toughest part is that we have been struggling with resources, especially from 2020, because the Political Party Funding Act demands disclosure and there are limits to how much you can raise.

“We are, however, still getting support from the private sector. We are getting our members to contribute. It has been improving, but it has been a big challenge. But we are also restructuring ourselves to make sure we have an organisation that we can sustain, particularly head office that employs people that we need. It is going to get better in future.”

The governing party has been unable to pay salaries on time for the past year, whereas the provident fund, Unemployment Insurance Fund and medical aid contributions have not been paid since 2018.

A report on the state of the ANC’s finances, revealing that the party is half a billion rand in debt, was handed to the NEC on 12 November at its gathering at Nasrec in Soweto.

The party is said to have R5-billion worth of assets — some in London and Zambia — which it would be looking to sell off. DM168

Interview with Zweli Mkhize by Chris Makhaye.

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R25. 

Gallery

Comments - Please in order to comment.

  • Hermann Funk says:

    I feel sorry for all those who fought apartheid with all they had only to be led by a bunch of crooks who are busy destroying this country.

  • gorgee beattie says:

    A Game of Phonies

  • Peter Oosthuizen says:

    Does anyone actually give a ****? Replacing one useless person with another makes no difference at all. As long as the ANC and it’s henchmen are in “control” (ha ha) the country will continue on its clourse to oblivion!

  • Graeme de Villiers says:

    How gracious of Sisulu. As if she stood a chance anyway.

  • Gerrie Pretorius says:

    “The governing party has been unable to pay salaries on time for the past year, whereas the provident fund, Unemployment Insurance Fund and medical aid contributions have not been paid since 2018.” And when can we expect the ‘manager responsible for paying over these contributions’ to be taken to court and hopefully face jailtime? If this had been a private institution where the (white?) manager had not paid over contributions of ([mainly] black) employees, he/she would have been crucified by the anc and racial retribution sought.

  • Paula Savva says:

    It is a criminal offense not to pay over staff deductions to UIF, etc. Why have the ANC been allowed to get away with it?!

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