ANC second-in-command Paul Mashatile and the party’s administration boss, secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, are engaged in unity talks in efforts to avoid a destructive leadership contest to succeed President Cyril Ramaphosa at the helm of the former liberation movement.
The duo met late last month at the home of businessman Reggie Kukama in Gauteng in what was sold as a social gathering.
In that meeting, it was allegedly agreed in principle that the two would not contest each other and would contest on one slate as president and deputy president, respectively.
It was Mbalula who spilt the beans about the gathering with Mashatile when he excitedly posted a picture of himself with Mashatile, which he has since deleted after triggering the curiosity of many, inside and outside the ANC.
Those with intimate knowledge of the powwow have alleged that serious issues involving the ANC were canvassed by the two political heavyweights before reaching common ground.
Before that moment, it was a commonly held view in political circles that Mbalula and Mashatile would take each other one for the ANC’s top job when Ramaphosa bows out in December 2027.
But in that meeting, alleged insiders Mbalula and Mashatile confronted each other about whether they were political foes.
“It is said that Spokes (Mashatile) asked Mbalula if they were working together or fighting, and that Mbalula responded that he had no problem with the man,” said an informant close to the situation.
It is believed the two had been at odds over some deployments from Luthuli House.
The two are said to have discussed conversations about the ANC succession in various
circles.
It was allegedly said that there were those insistent on the ANC keeping its long-held tradition of the deputy president graduating to the top post when number one vacates.
But also, calls by those saying it was time for a different generation led by Mbalula were also laid on the table.
Mashatile and Mbalula allegedly agreed that working together would be mutually beneficial to both and also for the unity of the ANC.
Mbalula has on several occasions publicly hinted at a managed ANC leadership transition in 2027, going as far as proclaiming that “there might not even be a contest”.
This view has been echoed, among others, by ANC Youth League president Collen Malatji in his public addresses.
Those in Mbalula’s camp said: “It was paramount to dispel the divisive perceptions.”
The insiders said the ANC was in a precarious position, and a fierce contest between the two could collapse Africa’s oldest liberation movement.
“That would prove disastrous, not only for the ANC but also for the poor blacks, whose dreams and aspirations are carried on the shoulders of our movement.”
Our moles further revealed that Mashatile and Mbalula also discussed their wariness of the Patrice Motsepe threat.
A campaign calling for Motsepe to take over from his brother-in-law Ramaphosa has been gaining momentum.
Mbalula has publicly slammed this campaign out of frustration and called for Motsepe to own it or distance himself from it.
Motsepe has done neither, giving legs to strong suspicions that he is secretly campaigning for the ANC’s top job.
