Wally Mbhele
Embattled Mpumalanga Premier Mathews Phosa is set to be discharged of his duties next month as premier and African National Congress provincial chair when the party meets to finalise its list of parliamentary candidates.
The ANC committee investigating the causes of infighting among ANC heavyweights in Mpumalanga – which is scheduled to complete its work in two weeks – will accuse Phosa, among other offences, of bringing the name of the ANC into disrepute.
Sources in the ANC say that besides suspicions that Phosa knew of the Dolphin corruption scandal, he also allegedly conspired with unnamed ANC officials and black journalists to produce “false propaganda” against ANC president Thabo Mbeki and his deputy Jacob Zuma.
In a meeting between Mbeki and Phosa, when he was questioned about the role of journalists in this alleged plot, Phosa is believed to have asked Mbeki to ask the journalists concerned as he could not speak on their behalf.
This alleged conspiracy has touched a raw nerve in the ANC’s leadership and could be the major reason why Phosa’s political career may soon end. The ANC does not take kindly to its officials’ “careerism” affecting the party’s reputation, a senior ANC head office official said.
Mbeki’s office is believed to be in possession of a letter written to President Nelson Mandela by the shady Dolphin Group asking about a substantial kickback the company claims to have donated to the Mpumalanga ANC after securing exclusive rights to Mpumalanga’s game parks.
The Mail & Guardian was unable to establish the exact amount allegedly donated. Some ANC sources say it was R50 000 while others claim it was R150 000. The ANC national office denied receiving the money.
Despite two weeks of questioning, the Dolphin Group refused to confirm or deny the money was paid to the ANC. But sources at Dolphin say it was at least one payment of R50 000.
ANC representative Thabo Masebe said the investigating committee was checking all information that had come to its attention. “At the moment, I’m not in a position to comment [on whether] there is such a letter in existence,” he said.
Phosa will become the second ANC provincial premier to be deposed. Former Free State premier Patrick “Terror” Lekota lost his position three years ago following bitter infighting with his colleagues in the provincial cabinet and the ANC’s provincial executive committee.
Phosa’s desperate grip on power began to weaken this week when the ANC lifted his suspension of three MECs he fired last year, pending an investigation into alleged corruption.
Phosa was informed of this decision by the leader of the ANC’s investigating committee, Nosiviwe Maphisa-Nqakula. While he did not object to the decision, Phosa is understood to have taken a strong exception to an instruction to stop speaking to the media. Sources say he told Maphisa- Nqakula that he was only defending himself against his detractors.
Of the three reinstated MECs, two are implicated in a series of corruption scandals currently being investigated by the Heath special investigation unit.
The lifting of the suspensions of former MEC for environmental affairs and tourism David Mkhwanazi and former finance MEC Jacques Modipane has sent tongues wagging in national and provincial ANC circles.
Mkhwanazi was sent packing following a series of corruption scandals that hit the Mpumalanga Parks Board and his alleged role – in collusion with then parks board boss Alan Gray – in securing the Dolphin deal. He also allegedly played a key role in securing the services of discredited self-made political analyst, Eugene Nyati, in setting up an investment office in Malaysia.
Modipane was axed for his alleged involvement in signing the promissory notes. Judge Willem Heath is expected to release his findings next week.
Mkhwanazi’s successor, Fish Mahlalela, is not implicated in corruption. His sacking was related to insubordination for refusing to take orders from Phosa.
Sources close to Phosa said the ANC commission has already formulated a definite opinion about his fate. “They look like they have made [up] their minds already,” said an official close to Phosa.
“At the moment, he’s not going to be shifted from his position. Against all accusations that have been levelled against him, the premier has decided to play his cards with [Judge] Heath and the police.
“He is not going to let people get away with murder. Once [Judge] Heath has concluded his investigations, Phosa is going to act decisively against those implicated. Enough proof will be provided by [Judge] Heath’s investigations.”
The allegations against Phosa appear to come from people who were once his close confidants during the period before the ANC’s national conference in December 1997, as well as from Gray, now suspended as Mpumalanga Parks Board chief.
Some of these officials fell out of favour with Phosa after he suspended them when their alleged role in corruption was unmasked. It is not clear why the ANC attaches such importance to the confessions of these people, who were allegedly co- conspirators with Phosa.
However, one ANC national office source said: “You have to use a thief to catch a thief,” and claimed that Phosa’s removal is a fait accompli. He said the allegations are so serious that a senior official in Mbeki’s office has been named as a co-conspirator in this alleged “disinformation machinery”.
The alleged conspiracy started after Phosa was instructed by Mandela to step down from the race for ANC deputy presidency in 1997. Journalists were to be used to discredit Mbeki and advance Phosa’s bid for high office in the ANC.
Gray, in one of his recent tirades against Phosa, has also alleged that there was a strategic alliance between Phosa’s office and journalists to discredit him. But his claim could merely be retribution by Gray and his former lieutenant in the parks board, James Nkambule.
Nkambule was a passionate Phosa supporter until he was suspended on corruption charges emanating from the parks board.
ANC provincial executive committee sources claimed Nkambule slammed “Mandela’s dictatorial tendencies” following the instruction to Phosa not to contest the ANC’s deputy presidency. He went as far as boycotting the party’s 1997 conference.