President Jacob Zuma’s supporters are moving to consolidate his power in Luthuli House and in strategic provinces ahead of the party’s 2012 elective conference in Mangaung.
Followers of ANC head of organising and campaigns Fikile Mbalula claim Luthuli House is taking away some of his responsibilities in what they view as a plot to weaken him.
In North West, Zuma’s faction is allegedly working with ANC provincial chairman Supra Mahumapelo to topple the party’s deputy secretary general, Thandi Modise, as premier, and Kabelo Mataboge as provincial secretary.
Modise and Mataboge are regarded as key supporters of Mbalula and ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe, who are being backed — mainly by the ANC Youth League — to replace secretary general Gwede Mantashe and Zuma in their respective positions at the conference next year.
In Limpopo, Cassel Mathale is fighting to hold on to his role as premier while the provincial South African Communist Party, supported by national office, calls for his government to be placed under administration.
Mathale is a close ally of youth league president Julius Malema and both men have been accused of involvement in irregular tender practices. Mathale told the Mail & Guardian that the ANC in Limpopo was also in conflict with Mantashe over when it should hold its provincial conference.
Malema is facing a disciplinary hearing and it appears the support he thought he enjoyed within the ANCYL in KwaZulu-Natal is being eroded as provincial executive committee disown him.
The M&G has reliably learnt that key responsibilities, including controlling the ANC’s membership system, have been shifted from Mbalula to Jessie Duarte, who now heads monitoring and evaluation in the ANC.
Said an ANC insider close to Mbalula: “They [Zuma and his allies] want to have control of membership in provinces. This would make it easier for them to know who in the provinces supports them and what work needs to do be done in recruiting more members sympathetic to them.”
Stripping Mbalula
Another senior ANC member who is sympathetic to Mbalula echoed the claims that there were moves to strip him of his responsibilities.
“They are people who are working under Jessie [Duarte] doing membership. Currently, organising and campaign is under her control. Gwede [Mantashe] took the membership system out of Mbalula’s hands and gave it to Duarte. He realised that if they leave membership in the hands of this man [Mbalula], they might lose the conference. The staff in Mbalula’s office at Luthuli House have now been instructed to report to Duarte on the membership issue.”
Mbalula is believed to be unimpressed with the changes. “He is not happy at all. He now realises the road to Mangaung is going to be rocky,” said a senior government official close to him.
Asked to comment, ANC officials gave contradictory responses. Party spokesperson Brian Sokutu said although he was unaware of any moves to shift key responsibilities from Mbalula’s office, he knew that Duarte’s role as head of monitoring and evaluation included overseeing branches and how they performed.
Duarte reacted angrily, contradicting Sokutu. “I’m sorry for Brian, but I have to differ with him. I hope he is not your source on this. That [overseeing branches] is Mbalula’s job. My role is to check if people understand the values of the ANC and if ministers are doing their job.
“This [taking some of Mbalula’s responsibilities] is a lie. I am not interested in furthering any lies. Go tell your source they are mad or trying to create stories where they don’t exist. If you don’t quote me on this I will write a letter to your editor.”
ANC communications manager Keith Khoza called the M&G to say the newspaper should not take Sokutu seriously because he was relieved of his responsibilities last Friday. He added that Duarte and Mbalula’s roles were different. “Jessie focuses on implementation of policy across the board. Mbalula’s role is more on organisational building.”
Khoza said although he was unaware of any attempts to shift responsibilities from Mbalula’s office, the matter currently being discussed was whether the auditing function should remain with Mbalula.
“They [ANC leaders] are saying organising cannot audit its own work, and we are discussing this. Auditing by its nature needs verifying. This [audit] has not been assigned to anybody yet,” said Khoza.
Modise’s supporters say she is being targeted because she refuses to participate in the politics of patronage. Immediately after she took over as premier, Modise is understood to have told officials not to bow to pressure by politicians to influence the allocation of provincial government tenders. “Those who are now pushing for Mahumapelo want to put him in the position for patronage,” said a senior ANC member familiar with North West politics.
Tensions brewing
A member of the provincial legislature sympathetic to Mahumapelo said Modise’s alliance with the youth league had stoked tensions that had already been brewing in the provincial executive committee. “She’s aligning herself with the ANC Youth League, which is not good. Some NEC members say Zuma is gradually getting irritated with her.”
Both Mahumapelo and Mataboge have denied there is infighting among the ANC provincial leadership.
Modise’s relationship with Mahumapelo apparently soured once it became clear that the chairman — and his supporters in the provincial executive committee – were against the campaign to unseat Mantashe and replace him with Mbalula.
Support for Mantashe is automatically translated in the provincial ANC as support for a second presidential term for Zuma.
Modise’s spokesperson, Cornelius Monama, said her position was not under threat. “There can never be a threat because the prerogative of appointing premiers lies with the president. The premier enjoys the support of the national leadership of the ANC and she has a good Ârelationship with the leadership Âcollective of the province and enjoys their support.”
It is also becoming apparent that Zuma is not guaranteed the block support of the left that he was in 2007. Although Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini supports a second term for him, the federation’s general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, apparently does not. Cosatu has not taken a formal position on the issue, but sources say it is unlikely to back him a second time.
Cosatu’s view, says a senior alliance leader, is that Zuma’s administration has failed to uplift the poor and that he should be replaced at the Mangaung conference. “We are continuing on the same neoliberal economic trajectory charted by former President Thabo Mbeki,” said a trade union leader who spoke on condition of anonymity. Cosatu must clean the slate and Âreassert its socialist orientation.”