Wally Mbhele
President Nelson Mandela travels to Mpumalanga this weekend and is expected to douse the blazing row sparked by his reported insistence that provincial Premier Mathews Phosa step down from the African National Congress race for deputy presidency to make way for KwaZulu-Natal leader Jacob Zuma.
And as a compromise, Phosa is expected to finally accept the position of national chair of the ANC, which is understood to have been offered him by Mandela in their first meeting when he was asked not to contest the deputy presidency.
Although Mpumalanga provincial ANC representative Jackson Mthembu was this week still adamant that Phosa had not stepped down from the race, he has, however, not ruled out the possibility of a compromise and the province may “let him withdraw within the interests of the movement”.
Mthembu yesterday announced in a statement that Phosa’s nomination would remain intact. He said Phosa can only announce that he is stepping down from the race after consultation with the provincial executive committee (PEC). “The statement he allegedly made in the Netherlands that he is withdrawing needs discussion with people in the province,” said Mthembu.
He expressed concern that “the matter has resulted in all the intricacies and the PEC may look at the matter and ANC’s national trends and decide to revisit the matter”.
So far, the national trends have shown Zuma to be supported by the majority of the provinces, who have been lobbied by the ANC’s national office to rally behind him. The only reason Shell House favours Zuma appears to be a fear that as a senior member of the party, it would embarrass the organisation if Phosa were to defeat him at the polls.
Sources have indicated that Phosa’s reluctance to step down from the race is informed by his strong conviction that he stands a good chance of winning the race against Zuma in the forthcoming Mafikeng conference.
Other insiders have suggested that Zuma is a key man for the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal and the party has to be seen “to be doing something for the people of that province”. The ANC feels it wants to increase his stature as he is earmarked to contest KwaZulu-Natal’s premiership during the forthcoming 1999 general elections.
Mthembu, who has a high regard for Phosa, said “the premier has no appetite for power. If the province is lobbied, we can come to a particular conclusion. Those are internal workings of the ANC.”
Regarding reports that the PEC has taken a decision to withdraw Phosa as a candidate, Mthembu said: “No decisions were reached. There were also discussions about whether he should stand for chairmanship.
“The PEC knew exactly it could not arrive at the conclusion when he’s not around. We have to be guided by the morality and workings of the ANC … “
Mthembu confirmed that Mandela will meet with the PEC and the alliance partners before going ahead to address the mass rally at Kanyamazane Stadium on Sunday. He refused to be drawn, however, into whether the row sparked by the president’s alleged interference in the nomination process would be raised with the president.
He said the president’s visit was planned long ago even before this matter came up adding that he could not say if “this matter will be discussed or not”.
The ANC’s national representative, Ronnie Mamoepa, told the Mail & Guardian that following a recent meeting between Mandela and Phosa, it was agreed that the president would address a rally in Mpumalanga as part of a build-up to the national conference.
He said Mandela’s visit would mobilise the people behind the ANC’s broad transformation process. In an apparent reference to the Phosa saga, he said “nothing will be precluded from being discussed”, and added that it has always been Mandela’s tradition to meet all ANC structures, including the PECs, when he visits provinces.
Meanwhile, the provincial working committee has announced it intends to sue journalist Justin Arenstein “with the aim of his exposing his malicious informers who are alleged to be members of the PEC”. The committee has established an investigating team of three, which “will receive written and oral evidence on members of the PEC and any other member of the ANC who is seen to be part of a group that is damaging the name and integrity of the ANC in the province”.
This follows a report published by the M&G last week, which said that Phosa was pushed out of the running by his own executive. The report quoted sources saying that Phosa’s high-handed style had played a role in his ousting.
Arenstein says he stands by what he wrote.