/ 22 November 2002

Behind the ANC’s crackdown in E-Cape

Government and African National Congress structures in the Eastern Cape are under siege because the province is viewed as spearheading a planned left-wing challenge to the ANC leadership at the party’s national conference in December, senior members say.

The Mail & Guardian understands that the province has since August been the focus of the national leadership’s attention, amid fears that it will back a leftist bid for national executive committee (NEC) positions. The ANC in the province, which is close to the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), will send the largest delegation to the national conference — 655 out of 3 061.

Eastern Cape ANC leaders claim that there were widespread reports within party structures that a document alerting the national leadership to an Eastern Cape-led plan to vote President Thabo Mbeki’s ideological opponents on to the NEC at the national conference had been sent to the organisation’s Luthuli House headquarters in August.

This week, Eastern Cape MEC for Education Stone Sizani resigned from the provincial cabinet — apparently under pressure — while the ANC announced that a high-powered team would be deployed to the province to strengthen the party’s provincial leadership. Two other MECs have refused to resign.

This followed an NEC meeting at the weekend which overturned the recent election of a new Eastern Cape leadership. ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe explained that the branch meetings that elected delegates were not quorate.

ANC leaders said they believed the developments were part of the sustained pressure that had been applied on the province since the document was sent to the national office. The document was apparently drafted after SACP members took control of the ANC’s numerically influential Nelson Mandela Metropole (Port Elizabeth) region.

”The document said there was a central coordinating committee of the ultra-left which had its provincial base in the Eastern Cape and that there was a conspiracy to challenge Mbeki,” a senior ANC official said.

An ANC leader said the ”conspiracy theory” appeared to be ”the work of disgruntled individuals who wanted to fill the leadership’s ears with nonsense”.

Among those allegedly named as anti-Mbeki conspirators are Eastern Cape Premier Makhenkesi Stofile, and four MECs — Economic Affairs, Enoch Godongwana; Roads and Public Works, Phumulo Masualle; Social Development, Ncumisa Kondlo; and Sizani.

Masualle is SACP chair in the Eastern Cape, while Kondlo is a member of the SACP’s political bureau.

These were allegedly identified as the provincial contacts of a ”leftist” grouping led by SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande, Cosatu president Willie Madisha, Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, ANC deputy general secretary Thenjiwe Mtintso and National Union of Mineworkers general secretary Gwede Mantashe. Also named was National Union of Metalworkers general secretary Silumko Nondwangu.

Several of these confirmed knowledge of the allegations, but denied being part of any plot. ”Only someone who is insecure and paranoid will entertain such theories,” said one of them.

ANC insiders claim ANC MP Mluleki George, who challenged Stofile for the Eastern Cape provincial chair, and member of the provincial legislature Thobile Mhlahlo, who stood against Sizani for the chair of the former Port Elizabeth region, were involved in the drafting of the document.

Both George and Mhlahlo said, however, that they had ”never heard” of the document. ANC national spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama denied knowledge of the document. ”I don’t know anything about it,” he said.

The document was discussed by members of the national working committee (NWC), some of whom dismissed its contents. But soon thereafter Stofile was advised by Luthuli House to fire Sizani, Masualle and Kondlo. Stofile resisted sustained pressure.

The national task group deployed to sort out the Eastern Cape ANC will apparently oversee the province’s nominations for the office-bearers and executive members to be elected at the Stellenbosch conference.

It is dominated by members closely associated with Mbeki’s inner circle and includes Tony Yengeni, Jeff Radebe, Dumisani Makhaye and Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

It is known that Mbeki demanded the three MECs’ resignations at a meeting in the National Council of Provinces three weeks ago, and gave Stofile two weeks to act. He gave in efficiency and non-delivery as the reasons for wanting their removal. The deadline is Friday.

Godongwana said this week he had not been asked to resign, and that his efficiency could not be cited as a reason for doing so.

It is understood Stofile is trying to resist the demand for the dismissal of the two MECs by proposing the firing of MEC for Sport Nosimo Balindlela, who belongs to the George camp.

It is understood that, at the weekend gathering of the ANC national executive, the NWC presented a report underlining technical irregularities in the Eastern Cape’s election of office-bearers, and recommended that the new provincial executive, led by Stofile, should be disbanded and the provincial party placed directly under Luthuli House.

However, the M&G has learnt that many NEC members — concerned about how the decision might affect the national conference next month — offered open resistance.

After what is described as ”an extremely robust” debate lasting two days, a compromise was reached. The old provincial executive — also led by Stofile — would be reinstated until new elections were held in three months and the national task group will apparently oversee the province’s nominations for the national conference. The delegation leaves for the Eastern Cape this weekend.

Motlanthe and Mtintso denied any ulterior motives for the NEC decision.