Allies of Limpopo premier and ANC chairperson Stan Mathabatha are alarmed that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s backers will aggressively push for his dismissal from the provincial government this weekend.
Yesterday the ANC national working committee was due to meet Limpopo party branches as Mathabatha’s loyalty to Ramaphosa’s administration has been a bubbling topic on the ground.
But Mathabatha’s supporters were also gearing up to push back against what they deemed to be a “political purge” of those who did not vote for Ramapahosa at the ANC national conference last December in Nasrec.
Today, the working committee meets the Mathabatha-led ANC provincial executive committee to table the report from the gathering with the grassroots structures.
In Luthuli House, Mathabatha was seen as too beholden to provincial strongman Danny Msiza and doing his bidding even in national executive committee (NEC) meetings.
“At every NEC he will always raise the subject of creating a special dispensation for Msiza, who faces criminal charges in relation to the VBS [Mutual Bank] fraud scandal and had to step aside,” said a source.
“If he continues this way then he will have to fall on his sword,” said a senior party leader in Ramaphosa’s camp.
Mathabatha’s political star has been waning since the fallout last December at Nasrec when he preferred former health minister Zweli Mkhize as ANC president instead of Ramaphosa.
ANC branches in Limpopo had endorsed Ramaphosa’s re-election for a second term and a significant number refused to follow Mathabatha’s revised directive on Mkhize.
But Ramaphosa’s group would be careful not to create a perception that they had embarked on a political purge of those who did not vote for their man in Nasrec, as some close to Mathabatha have already intimated.
Mathabatha’s sympathisers blame the Nasrec episode for the subsequent breakdown in relations between the two ANC Limpopo home boys.
Those in Mthabatha’s corner said Ramaphosa had no choice but to tolerate the Limpopo premier at least until next year’s general elections.
“The president is so irritated with Stan [Mathabatha] that he is considering removing him as premier. I doubt they’ll touch him as ANC provincial chair though, especially this close to the elections. That would be foolhardy but with these people, you
never know,” said an ANC NEC member aligned to Mathabatha.
In the botched Nasrec elections deal, Mathabatha’s lobby group initially had an informal agreement with Ramaphosa’s camp that Limpopo delegates would vote for Ramaphosa to retain his presidential seat and in return, Ramaphosa’s group would vote for Mathabatha to become the new national chairperson of the ANC.
However, during last-minute bargaining on the conference floor, Ramaphosa’s lobby group refused to accommodate Mathabatha and instead preferred minerals and resources minister Gwede Mantashe.
On the other hand, Mkhize’s camp was willing to back Mathabatha in exchange for the Limpopo vote. Mathabatha’s camp accepted Mkhize’s deal but had trouble persuading Limpopo delegates to support their case.
Among the factors working in favour of Mathabatha’s survival was that he would remain the provincial chairperson of the governing ANC even if he was no longer premier. That way he could still give political instructions to the provincial executive.
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