ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has confirmed Sunday World’s report that there was a plot to force the party’s Limpopo chairperson Stan Mathabatha to step down as premier after his fallout with President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Nasrec conference in December.
In March, we reported how Mathabatha had dodged the bullet when a face-to-face meeting with the ANC national working committee (NWC) was postponed at the last minute due to a clashing parliamentary caucus lekgotla in Midrand.
The postponed meeting was supposed to be part of the NWC’s impromptu oversight work on regional general councils (RGCs) in the province.
Reliable sources who spoke to Sunday World on condition of anonymity at the time highlighted that the NWC visit to oversee the RGCs was being used as a launch pad for a wider strategy to remove Mathabatha after the Nasrec political fallout with Ramaphosa.
The sources said the NWC planned to meet with Mathabatha and other top five leaders to discuss the state of the ANC in the province as pressure mounted for the premier to resign.
They said some ANC leaders had been pushing for Mathabatha’s departure, citing his alleged loss of support within party structures, governance issues, and his decision to appoint as MECs leaders who had been implicated in the VBS looting and fraud scandal.
One such appointment was that of transport and community safety MEC Florence Radzilani, who is provincial ANC deputy chairperson and former Vhembe district mayor. She was also the face of Mathabatha’s failed campaign to be ANC national chairperson.
A week later, the party’s provincial executive released a media statement on April 5 denying any plot to force out Mathabatha and labelling the Sunday World story as “mischievous”.
Provincial secretary Reuben Madadze said: “The ANC Limpopo noted the mischievous reporting by Sunday World newspaper, suggesting that the provincial chairperson’s removal as the premier of Limpopo is imminent, and further that the provincial chairperson does not do political work and misses government activities.
“We wish to confirm [that] the media reports are untrue.”
On Sunday, Mbalula did not mince his words when he publicly confirmed the calls for Mathabatha to be axed.
Mbalula spoke to the media on the sidelines of the NWC’s visit to Limpopo to oversee the RGCs and interact with branch members.
“We are aware that because of what happened in Nasrec there has been mobilisation against the chairperson, and the fact that he must go,” said Mbalula, who was in Limpopo with the NWC.
The secretary-general, however, said Mathabatha’s U-turn at Nasrec is not enough to remove him as premier of the province, noting that those who want him gone have a right to voice their concerns but must bring something concrete against the premier.
“You don’t chuck a person out simply because he had political beliefs called amabhubesi [lions] in Nasrec. A person can remain Bhubesi until he dies, it’s fine. It’s his belief, but that belief was defeated [during the] conference,” he said.
Mbalula added that the only reason that can result in any leader being removed was underperformance.
“You chuck Mbalula because he is underperforming and he is not available for the job, and that is it. You don’t chuck a person because ‘amabhubesi, amabhubesi.’ The man stood, he was defeated.
“He stood against the position of the province. He misbehaved because the province had a position that Ramaphosa must be the president and he became a bhubesi on his way to the conference,” he said.
“You can’t chuck a comrade out of the organisation because he held a different view and misbehaved along the way. You engage around that particular issue.
“The fundamental question should be what is it that he is doing as a premier and as chairperson that undermines the cohesion of the province.”
Mathabatha recently emerged from the woodwork and started attending public gatherings after going underground for a while.
According to one of the sources who spoke to Sunday World in March, Mathabatha had started snubbing public events after he was booed in his home region of Sekhukhune.
He had also been prevented from introducing ANC deployees during a belated celebration of the January 8th Statement and ANC’s 111th birthday.
The ANC insider said the booing led to Mathabatha growing “cold feet” when it came to attending public events.
The premier also missed Human Rights Day and World TB Day, where his MECs had to step in and address the crowds on his behalf.
“The ANC is now under tremendous pressure given the upcoming elections. Internal research has shown that Gauteng is going and KwaZulu-Natal will go to the IFP.
“They are now heavily relying on Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and Eastern Cape to cover the gaps,” said the source.
Mathabatha’s spokesperson Willy Mosoma did not respond to Sunday World enquiries.
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