President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday launched a spirited fight back against his detractors in the party, amid calls for him to step down, as the gloves came off in the ferocious battle for the soul of the ANC.
The ANC today concludes a special meeting of its national executive committee (NEC), the culmination of a dramatic week in which Ramaphosa came under fire for his letter on corruption, with former president Jacob Zuma leading the charge.
On Friday morning, Ramaphosa faced criticism for his letter, in which he said the ANC was Accused No 1 on corruption, a comment that saw ANC senior leader Tony Yengeni calling on him to step down during the meeting of the party’s national working committee (NWC).
Yengeni challenged Ramaphosa on the donations he received for his 2017 presidential campaign, saying he should lead by example by being the first to step down.
Attacked at the NWC meeting, Ramaphosa held his own at the NEC gathering later in the day, during which he continued his crusade against corruption. In his political overview, the president said the historical roots of corruption were not an excuse not to fight it, adding people were right to distrust the party’s commitment to fighting corruption when they saw it failing to act against cadres accused of graft.
In a dramatic move, Ramaphosa said he would subject himself to the integrity commission over the funding of his CR17 presidential campaign, saying the structure would address issues of principle arising from funding of internal contests.
An NEC member, who attended the meeting, said Ramaphosa was unshaken on the issue of corruption when addressing the meeting. “The gloves are off. What is clear is that people are fighting for their lives. Now that there is a political will to fight corruption, there is a revolt,” he said. “The president is going nowhere.”
An NWC member explained that when Ramaphosa said the ANC was Accused No 1 on corruption, it was because that is the perception in the eyes of the citizens.
Ramaphosa said the ANC had become too inwardly focused and now needed to focus on the country’s struggling economy. “The Coronavirus pandemic has simply exacerbated an already fraught economic situation and it is important that we present the country with a sound and implementable economic plan as soon as possible,” he told the NEC.
Ramaphosa, in his political overview, highlighted some of the points of his letter, including that those charged with corruption should step down from their positions.
He proposed ANC leaders should make regular declarations of their financial interests, adding “we should conduct lifestyle audits of all ANC leaders and public representatives”.
Following a heated discussion, NEC members agreed that members who were implicated in corruption would be referred to the top six officials, who would categorise the allegation based on their gravity.
“The officials will then refer the list of categorised offences to the integrity commission which will deal with the alleged offenders. But those who are implicated in wrongdoing will have to be given the right to be heard instead of just instructing them to step aside,” said a source.
