ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule and others charged with corruption have been given a lifeline after the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting resolved that the step aside issue will be put out for discussion at branch level.
The announcement was made by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the conclusion of a three-day NEC meeting on Monday night.
Ramaphosa said the NEC resolved that all members who have been charged with corruption or other serious crimes must step aside within 30 days, or else face suspension.
Magashule is now expected to use this time to consult ‘past leaders’ or former presidents on the matter before a final decision could be taken.
“All members who have been charged with corruption or other serious crimes must step aside within 30 days, failing which they should be suspended in terms of Rule 25.70 of the ANC Constitution,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“The meeting emphasised that the 30 day period will be to enable the implementation of the decision in line with the guidelines, not to review the decision.”
He said the NEC also agreed that the Provincial Chairpersons and Secretaries would meet with the National Officials during that time to further refine the guidelines to ensure the resolution can be effectively and practically implemented.
“The Secretary General’s Office will work with the provinces to identify all people affected and inform them of the decision. The NEC welcomed the decision by the ANC Secretary General Cde Ace Magashule to use this time to seek the counsel of past leaders of the movement,” said Ramaphosa.
“The NEC called on all ANC members to rally around this decision and not to engage in any acts of indiscipline, including through mobilisation or public statements that undermine implementation of the Conference resolution.”
Magashule supporters told Inside Politics that the ANC NEC decision is a victory for the Secretary General because it will offer him an opportunity to mobilise branches ahead of the party’s National General Council in May.
“Ace Magashule remains the secretary general. He will meet all provincial secretaries to get guidance from them. Hopefully you all know what’s the likely outcome would be. It will take a month. This is victory for him, because which provincial secretary will differ with Ace [Magashule],” said one of his supporters.
Magashule has denied the corruption charges, which relate to a contract to audit homes with asbestos roofs when he was premier of the Free State province.
In December, the ANC’s Integrity Commission recommended that Magashule step aside from his position pending the outcome of the corruption case.
The decision on members vacating their positions, which has been at the centre of talks in ANC NEC meetings, will be seen as a victory for Ramaphosa, who has pledged to clean up the ANC’s image with a tough stance on corruption since becoming party leader in December 2017.
It could have significant political ramifications, however, ahead of local government elections this year.
Magashule is from a faction within the ruling party that has at times appeared at odds with Ramaphosa since he replaced Jacob Zuma as head of state in February 2018.
Following the ANC’s NEC meeting, Ramaphosa said on Monday that the 30-day period “will be to enable the implementation of the decision in line with the guidelines, not to review the decision.”
“The NEC welcomed the decision by the ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule to use this time to seek the counsel of past leaders of the movement,” Ramaphosa added during his address to the nation.
Ramaphosa also announced that the ANC NEC has also condemned the establishment of groups such as Radical Economic Transformation Forces operating as organised faction within the ANC to undermine the ideological and organisational integrity of the ANC.
“The NEC warned those who wish to subvert the ANC by seeking to create diversions that we will not tolerate meddling in the internal affairs of the ANC or the use of ANC resources to undertake counter revolutionary activities from within its structures and facilities,” said Ramaphosa.
“The meeting agreed that no ANC member should associate themselves with or be involved in the so-called ‘RET Forces’. Furthermore, the NEC will not allow any member of the ANC staff to use the resources and premises of the ANC to hold meetings of the RET or any other faction.”
- Inside Politics. Additional reporting by agencies.
