The firing of Free State African National Congress chairperson Elias ”Ace” Magashule from the provincial Cabinet last week is seen as the first step in eliminating him from provincial politics.
The Mail & Guardian was told this week that powerful figures are plotting to oust Magashule as Free State chairperson at the provincial congress in June.
Magashule has been the potent factor in Free State politics for the past 13 years.
His grassroots support — he was a popular United Democratic Front activist — has enabled him to withstand repeated attempts to marginalise him.
It is known that the campaign against him has the support of the ANC’s national leadership, which sees him as an ambitious and divisive populist.
Last week Free State Premier Beatrice Marshoff unexpectedly dropped him from her provincial Cabinet, where he had been agriculture provincial minister since last May. She also dropped environment, tourism and economic affairs provincial minister Benny Malakoane and removed Benny Kotsoane from the local government and housing hot seat.
Marshoff told the M&G that all the affected provincial ministers had accepted that they had not performed according to expectations. All three insist their performance has been above average and that they only accepted her actions because it was her prerogative to reconstitute her Cabinet.
This week Magashule was confident that he would remain ANC provincial chairperson, despite the lobbying against him.
Magashule has been the ANC leader throughout the premierships of Mosioua Lekota, Ivy Matsepe-Cassaburi, Winkie Direko and now Marshoff. Even after Luthuli House disbanded his provincial executive, hoping to get rid of him, he was overwhelmingly returned to office by grassroots structures.
A member of a group working to oust Magashule said Magashule now had his back against the wall and would be finally defeated at the congress. He said the ANC national office and the Free State Youth League wanted to see the back of him.
Some of Magashule’s trusted lieutenants, including Anna Buthelezi and Casca Mokitlane, were no longer on good terms with him.
Mokitlane and Buthelezi are from the powerful Thabo Mofutsanyana region, which includes Qwaqwa and Harrismith. It carries the largest number of voting delegates at the provincial congress.
Those who want Magashule out say he has been the common factor in all the divisions that have troubled the Free State since the ANC was unbanned. They tout Mokitlane and Marshoff as replacements for him as provincial party leader.
Asked whether she would contest the chairpersonship, Marshoff said she had not yet decided whether to stand. ”The office of the premier is a political office and it is doing exactly what the ANC expects it to do. I don’t need another platform to implement ANC policy.”
Marshoff played down rivalry with Magashule. ”The issues of my political vulnerability are exaggerated because we are all working towards the same ANC ideals.”
Magashule said he was prepared to step down if the congress wanted him to, but would make himself available for the chairpersonship. ”I am confident that I will be elected on to the leadership, but not necessarily as a chairperson. I have been in the provincial leadership since 1992, but I am not at all ambitious. I will do whatever tasks the ANC asks me to,” he said.
Magashule added that he had turned down an opportunity to be premier in 1994 when he was top of the ANC list and therefore, in terms of ANC practice, should have led the government.
”I volunteered to step down in favour of an older person. That’s when we opted for Mosiuoa Lekota, who was not even on the provincial list. I enjoy working with the masses,” he said.
Magashule said he had come to terms with being axed. ”I am inspired by Pallo Jordan, who has been consistent in his work for the ANC even when he was dropped from the Cabinet. Now he’s back there.”