Nearly a week after its highly contentious inner circle meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party remains unified and strong to lead the country to better days ahead, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said.
The heated meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), in fact, had “turbocharged” the ANC to renew its mandate of governing the country, the president said during a side briefing of the press after laying a wreath at Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s resting place in Johannesburg on Good Friday.
ANC treasurer general Paul Mashatile, who is close to the president, and other leaders known to be sympathetic to his political rival and ANC secretary general Ace Magashule, accompanied Ramaphosa to the ceremony.
The president insisted that the NEC meeting, which resolved that ANC leaders facing criminal charges must step aside in 30 days, did not divide the century old political movement.
If anything, he added, the party’s “step aside” policy renewed the party’s resolve to rid itself of negative public perception that its leaders were corrupt in light of the court cases some of them were facing – including Magashule, who is out on a US$13,000 bail waiting for trial on corruption charges.
Following the meeting, there were fears that Ramaphosa’s insistence on implementing the step aside rule would divide the organisation as some observers believed the president was targeting Magashule who is facing multiple corruption charges related to a US$17-million asbestos tender.
“The project of unity is what the ANC is all about. And it’s not about to collapse,” the president said.
He added: “Actually, due to the meeting, it’s being turbocharged to another higher level of vigour, and we are serious about what the 54th national conference charged us to do — to unite and to renew the ANC.”
The president was asked why Magashule was not part of the wreath-laying ceremony and whether this had anything to do with their political feud.
He replied that Magashule was not the only ANC leader not present at the ceremony, citing other leaders who were absent from the event like Deputy President David Mabuza, Magashule’s deputy Jessie Duarte and ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe, who is in fact one of Ramaphosa’s allies.
The beleaguered Magashule on Thursday told the press that he would step down to await the outcome of his court cases. However, he did not say when he would leave office as he wanted to consult several former ANC leaders first for advice.
The NEC decided that Magashule and other leaders facing corruption charges must vacate their positions by 30 April, failing which they faced party suspensions.
NM/jn/APA