Johannesburg – President Cyril Ramaphosa’s backers are planning to throw out supporters of the governing party’s secretary- general Ace Magashule’s from the organisation’s national disciplinary committee (NDC) as the batt le for the soul of the party intensifies.
Sunday World can reveal that the disciplinary committ ee was set to be the next batt le front between the two warring factions.
There were concerns in Ramaphosa’s camp that Magashule’s sympathisers – who overwhelmingly dominate the committee – were set to frustrate eff orts to discipline leaders who were going to refuse to step aside as per the organisation’s contentious decision.
A senior leader in Ramaphosa’s camp confirmed that plans were afoot to reconstitute the committees.
“We just have to review the committees. But the NEC [national executive committee] has not taken a decision or discussed it,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Last week, the chairperson of the ANC in the Northern Cape Zamani Saul, who is in Ramaphosa’s faction, hinted that moves were afoot to effect sweeping changes to the NDC.
In an article written for EWN, Saul, who described Magashule’s group – which calls itself Radical Economic Transformation (RET) forces – as not merely a faction but a splinter, said there was a need for an “aggressive strategy” to counter it.
“Secondly, there is a need to strengthen the capacity of the disciplinary committee by first and foremost releasing the disciplinary committee from being a captive to factions,” he wrote.
It has emerged that Ramaphosa’s faction wanted to flush out Magashule’s allies from the NDC and other committees to consolidate the president’s power and arm him to discipline those who defy the party line.
The NDC is chaired by former labour minister Mildred Oliphant and its members include Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa and his deputy Nocawe Mafu, Sdumo Dlamini, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, former state security minister Bongani Bongo, and former communications minister Faith Muthambi.
Labour and Employment Deputy Minister Pinky Moloi, former mineral resources ministers Susan Shabangu and Ngoako Ramathlodi and Finance Minister Tito Mboweni also sit on the NDC.
The NDC is also made up of allies of former president Jacob Zuma, whom Magashule visited as part of consultation on the step-aside matter.
Meanwhile, the step-aside matter was once again at the centre of heated fights in the ANC this week. This was after Magashule issued a memo last week in which he expanded the scope of the leaders who should step aside by including those “implicated in corrupt practices”.
He called on provincial secretaries to submit lists to his office by Thursday, in what was seen as part of a fightback against efforts to force him to step aside. But the party’s national working committee – which manages the affairs of the organisation – contradicted Magashule, saying those criminally charged should step aside within the 30 days ultimatum as per the decision of the party’s NEC.
The Northern Cape decided to disregard Magashule’s “amendment” while KwaZulu- Natal was seeking clarity on the inclusion of leaders facing allegations but not yet charged. On Thursday, Magashule fell out with his deputy, Jessie Duarte, over the extension of the scope, among other issues.
In a scathing attack on Magashule, Duarte told the SABC that the party’s top six leadership had not held discussions with Magashule, nor consulted with him on the changes to the step-aside policy.
But at the heart of the fallout between the two was the leaking of an audio clip of the meeting between the party’s top six officials – which includes Deputy President David Mabuza, chairperson Gwede Mantashe and treasurer Paul Mashatile – and Zuma.
In the clip, Duarte was scathing about the conduct of Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, despite having apologised to him, and supports Zuma’s refusal to appear before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
Duarte was outraged by the leak and slammed Magashule’s supporters, whom she believed are behind the audio. Ramaphosa’s supporters viewed Duarte’s move as an implosion in the RET camp.
“The logic was that they wanted to show that Duarte supports Zuma [and by extension Magashule]. She apologised to Zondo and then goes to attack him. She feels exposed,” a Ramaphosa supporter said.
One of the senior leaders in the Magashule camp said they sympathised with Duarte, adding Magashule was surrounded by people who were failing to advise him properly and, as a result, was committing blunders.
“The guys in the office of the SG are letting him down. It is true that Ace made a mistake by including [in the letter] things like those facing allegations,” the senior leader said.
“Why should I step aside on the basis of allegations? There is no fallout [between Magashule and Duarte], emotions are just running high,” he said.
But another source close to Magashule was unhappy with Duarte.
“You start gett ing a feeling that she is eager to take over. She even goes out to say she is ready to suspend the SG if he does not step aside,” he said. Asked for comment, Duarte said: “Not interested in your divisive slant”.
Saul could not be reached for comment.
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