Deputy President Paul Mashatile seems to be stirring up more drama than he probably wants right now.
Drama isn’t exactly going to help his dream of becoming the ANC’s president, especially since he’s just announced that he’s up for the challenge if the party gives him the nod.
What Mashatile really needs to do is start mending fences and building stronger connections if he wants to make a serious run for it.
For ages, he’s been a solid team player, never trying to steal the spotlight from President Cyril Ramaphosa. That’s commendable, right?
Now, he needs to take that team spirit and step it up a notch, becoming the kind of leader who can bring people together, especially when things get heated.
Millions from the Qatari government
No one likes a leader who seems like they’re throwing personal jabs.
Given that the media closely monitors his every move, Mashatile must maintain transparency and clarity.
Just this weekend, there were reports about Investec, a big commercial bank, cutting ties with some of Mashatile’s associates because of “reputational risks”.
The bank noticed some allegedly sketchy transactions involving millions while Mashatile was the ANC’s treasurer.
The big drama is over R85-million from the Qatari government, supposedly to “build goodwill” with certain businesspeople, the ANC, and some company directors.
There’s nothing suggesting Mashatile did anything wrong. The heat is focused more on those around him.
Indeed, it’s disheartening for black executives to find themselves in the midst of Mashatile’s fervour. Unfortunately, even he cannot influence the media coverage of his friends.
But there are things Mashatile can control, like the recent clash with the SACP in Mpumalanga.
The real troublemaker
Apparently, Mashatile said to the media that the SACP was cool with Ramaphosa’s government of national unity (GNU) and that Solly Mapaila, the SACP’s general secretary, was the real troublemaker. Oh boy.
The SACP wasn’t having any of that and asked Mashatile to take back his words and apologise to Mapaila.
They were pretty blunt about it, indicating that the attack was an outright lie aimed at making Mapaila and the SACP look bad, adding that Mapaila speaks for the whole SACP, not just himself.
They went on to clarify that Mapaila is the party’s main spokesperson, following the SACP’s constitution and decisions.
His job is to represent the party’s policies and resolutions, and he’s got the central committee’s backing on this.
The SACP even threw a bit of shade, suggesting that it was embarrassing that the deputy president of such a historic movement like the ANC can’t grasp the basic principles of their party.
Stance against GNU
“We’re surprised that the ANC deputy president encourages leaders to attend the party’s schools to develop themselves, but we believe he needs those classes more than any of those leaders.
“It is a shame that the deputy president of the glorious 112-year-old liberation movement would fail to grasp such simple organisational principles and functionality of the party as the SACP, which is an alliance partner of the ANC.”
The SACP also reiterated its stance against the GNU, telling Mashatile that he should get his facts straight before pointing fingers at Mapaila.
It’s really simple stuff that doesn’t require a party school education to understand, they quipped.
Mashatile’s definitely got a bit of a rocky road ahead. Here’s to hoping he can smooth things over and make the right connections to bolster his presidential bid.
