The youth wings of the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) are purging internal opposition as each tries to influence the outcome of the ANC’s 2012 conference.
This week the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) announced it would institute disciplinary action against individuals whom it declined to name.
But the Mail & Guardian understands the action will be aimed against league president Julius Malema’s Limpopo rivals, led by the league’s former Limpopo chairperson, Lehlogonolo Masoga.
Masoga is accused of defying the league’s national leadership by organising a special provincial general council two weeks ago. He and his sympathisers are contesting the election of Malema’s ally, Frans Moswane, as provincial chairperson. Masoga complained at the time that Malema had brought “ghost branches” to the conference to ensure that Moswane would win.
The disciplinary charges against Masoga and his top five former ANCYL provincial executive committee (PEC) members come less than five days after the Young Communist League (YCL) suspended Malema confidants Floyd Shivambu and Stalin Buthane.
Shivambu is the ANCYL national spokesperson and Buthane is the YCL’s PEC member in Limpopo. The two are in Malema’s camp in the ANCYL, whereas Masoga is favoured by the young Reds.
Shivambu is accused of calling SACP deputy general secretary Jeremy Cronin a racist and Buthane is charged with misconduct for allegedly disrupting a YCL meeting in Mokopane.
Both Shivambu and Buthane have rejected the charges and claim their suspensions are a witch-hunt.
The deepening tension between the two organisations has all the signs of a power struggle leading up to the 2012 elective conference. An ANCYL faction led by Malema and Shivambu wants Deputy Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula elected ANC secretary general. The opposing faction, led by deputy president Andile Lungisa and Masoga, with support from YCL national secretary Buti Manamela, is campaigning for current secretary general Gwede Mantashe.
King-maker
Lungisa’s supporters in the ANCYL and the YCL want him to unseat Malema at the league’s elective conference next year. Leadership positions in the ANCYL, which is seen as a king-maker in the ruling party, have become crucial for warring factions in the ANC’s tripartite alliance.
The YCL’s campaign for Lungisa gained momentum at last December’s SACP special congress in Polokwane, where the ANCYL deputy president received a jubilant welcome while Malema was heckled.
“From the left side we see Lungisa as an alternative to Julius. The problem is that when it comes to public speaking he is weaker than Julius,” said a YCL leader who preferred to remain anonymous.
The Mail & Guardian has learned that the ANCYL’s national executive council plans to charge Lungisa to weaken him or eliminate him from the presidential race.
As the leader of the NEC deployees and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to the Limpopo provincial congress last month, Lungisa apparently declared the leadership elections free and fair. But he later backtracked, adding his voice to those who had questioned the legitimacy of the process.
He is also accused of sowing division by starting to campaign for the league presidency and challenging a sitting president way before the formal nominations process has started.
Shivambu denied claims that there were plans to haul Lungisa before the disciplinary committee.
Shivambu’s suspension is not supported by all in the YCL, according to a young communist national leader. “The YCL cannot ask comrade Floyd to disown the policies of the ANC Youth League and apologise to them for his statements representing the ANCYL,” the leader said.
He said it was clear this was the 2012 succession battle. “It was very strange that Julius appeared before the ANC disciplinary committee and on the other hand Floyd is being suspended.”
The bitter fight between the ANCYL and its communist ally began last year after the ANCYL initiated its campaign for the nationalisation of mines. Cronin was labelled a “racist” and a “white messiah” when he opposed nationalisation.
Shivambu’s written submission to the YCL’s national committee on the matter said Cronin had accused him of receiving bribes from mine owners in exchange for the ANCYL’s support for nationalisation. Cronin refused to comment this week.
Stalin booted
Stalin Buthane, the suspended YCL national committee member, says he was booted out of the league because he refused to channel a provincial government tender to a company close to the league’s national secretary Buti Manamela.
Buthane said the reason given — that he helped to organise a meeting not sanctioned by the YCL — was a smokescreen. The real reason was that he defied Manamela’s instructions.
Buthane said that Manamela called him to ask for a R51-million tender for project management to be channelled to a company Manamela is close to.
Buthane is the chief of staff in the office of Pinky Kekana, Limpopo’s roads and transport minister. The department called for support services for roads and transport infrastructure delivery in tender PUDP 394.
TauPride, whose tender is in the M&G‘ s possession, is not linked to Manamela but is said to be a generous financial supporter of the YCL.
“Buti is not linked to TauPride; he is the middleman. They take care of him,” Buthane said. “He called me and said: ‘I’ve seen you advertised a tender. We want that tender so I’ll send you my guys.’
“I met TauPride and told them I am not working with tenders. If you want it, it gets advertised and an evaluation committee decides. They went back to Buti and said I’m refusing to help.”
At the recent YCL lekgotla, Manamela allegedly told Buthane the tender was submitted but “we’re not making it”, implying it had not been approved. Soon afterwards Buthane’s suspension was announced.
On Thursday, Manamela refused to answer questions, saying only that Buthane “has been suspended by the national committee of the YCL in line with disciplinary procedures”. “Matters of such nature — in order not to prejudice the suspended party, are not handled in public.