Johannesburg – Former deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe has warned against “thuggish” behaviour and “gangsterism” in the ANC as he lashed out at some cabinet ministers and their deputies in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration for promoting divisions in the party when carrying out their organisational and government duties.
In a hard-hitting report presented to the party’s special national executive committee (NEC) meeting on Friday, Motlanthe, who is the organisation’s electoral committee chairperson, said the governing party’s selection of candidates for the local government elections was characterised by factional battles between those aligned to Ramaphosa and the so-called RET Forces (radical economic transformation forces).
Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule is the face of the RET.
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“The slate politics and factionalism has been entrenched to epidemic levels within the ANC. The manipulation of the candidate lists appears to be done to favour one of these factions depending on which faction is in charge at provincial, regional and branch levels,” said Motlanthe during a virtual presentation.
“The comrades who seem to have proximity to the president often label others as RET forces to push their own personal agendas whilst entrenching divisions within the ANC. Ministers and deputy ministers shamelessly and very openly pronounce their allegiance to a particular faction during their political and government work,” he said.
A former secretary-general of the ANC and president of the country between September 2008 and May 2009, Motlanthe said there were “thugs and gangsters” who bought food and alcohol “for unruly mobs” to disrupt branch meetings convened to select candidates.
He said “criminals” used money to influence the selection processes of candidates and hired armed security and bouncers to prevent prospective candidates and their supporters from accessing venues of branch meetings.
“The criminals, thugs and gangsters are using money to unduly influence the candidate selection process by bussing mobs to protest at Luthuli House (ANC headquaters) and provincial offices under the pretext of being disgruntled community members,” he said, adding that the party’s ability to deal with the hooligans was hampered by the absence of applicable clauses in its constitution.
The ANC was saved from embarrassment at the polls by the reopening of the candidate selection process, after it was marred by malfeasance and infighting, which led to the party not fielding candidates on time in 94 minucipalities.
Motlanthe said the party’s NEC deployed to Tshwane, governed by the DA after the ANC lost it in the 2016 local polls, could not submit the candidates list in time because the region had been captured by “gangsters and thugs” who had captured the ANC in townships.
Government projects and investments by the private sector were hampered by disruptive groups who demanded stakes in them.
“The ANC should embark on intensive political work and campaigns to free ANC branches and communities in Tshwane from gangsters, thugs and criminals who continue to terrorise ordinary members of the community.”
The committee called on the NEC to instruct the party’s provincial executive committee to take disciplinary action against Tshwane regional secretary, Eugene Modise, who should be charged with non-compliance with local government elections rules and guidelines of the ANC.
On Monday, members of the ANC in the capital city protested outside the Gauteng legislature, accusing Modise of fielding his allies on the list at the exclusion of opponents.
In the Free State, Magashule allies were readying to go to court over the list process.
They have also threatened to contest as independents as it emerged that regional structures – mostly dominated by Magashule loyalists – could be disbanded by the interim provincial committee, led by the former Free State premier’s nemesis, Mxolisi Dukwana.
In Limpopo, Motlanthe explained how at a recent meeting he and the ANC national list coordinator, Chief Livhuwani Matsila, had with the Veterans League descended into factional fights in the Vhembe region, where leaders of the region and those of the league accused one another of being RET forces or VBS while others said they were CR17 forces.
He said the NEC should instruct the party’s PEC in Limpopo to investigate allegations of manipulation of the list by regional secretary of Waterberg, Jacob Moabelo, who should be charged for defying the provincial list committee.
Motlanthe also wants disciplinary action against interim provincial committee coordinators in the North West (Hlumani Chauke) and Western Cape (Ronalda Nalumango) for alleged mismanagement of the list process and dereliction of duty. He recommended that a team be appointed to investigate these allegations.
Chauke defied Motlanthe in refusing to do a rerun of the list process, inviting the wrath of the party’s deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, who warned him this week that he would be suspended over the botching of the process.
Motlanthe’s report also noted that the party’s efforts to achieve 50% representation of women and 25% of youth on ward and proportional representation lists was thwarted by factionalism by senior male ANC leaders.
“It will be virtually impossible for the ANC to achieve the compliance with youth and gender representation if communities continue to be mobilised along factional lines dominated by male and older comrades,” he said.
“The ANC leadership, especially president and national officials, must intensify their efforts to quell factionalism by visibly and strongly condemning anybody who uses their names to push factional and personal agendas.”
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