Rapule Tabane

Lovemore Madhuku is a political commentator and head of the National Constitutional Assembly, a coalition of civil society groups agitating for constitutional reform in Zimbabwe. He suggested that the opposition boycott the elections. He did not cast his vote. Two weeks ago, he was detained briefly for making "unsubstantiated allegations" against the government. He talks to us.

In his final term in office and with huge delivery backlogs threatening his legacy, President Thabo Mbeki is moving to bolster the national government to give it greater decision-making powers over provinces and the local government. The moves will require no constitutional changes to the enshrined independence of the three spheres of government. However, it is clear that Mbeki is seeking a stronger hand.

Renewed hostilities between the African National Congress and its left-wing allies are likely to fuel growing demands within the South African Communist Party for the party to stand independently in elections. Support for the go-it-alone strategy grew at SACP provincial congresses this year, where it received majority support in six of its nine provinces.

A vitriolic four-page attack by trade union leader Zwelinzima Vavi on African National Congress Youth League president Fikile Mbalula this week exposed a tripartite alliance hopelessly divided on the issue of Zimbabwe. In a counterblast to a statement by Mbalula on the ANC website, Vavi accused the youth league leader of "childish schoolboy misrepresentation of facts" and said he should be "ashamed of himself".

John Block, the disgraced former Northern Cape transport minister, could stage a comeback and topple Premier Dipuo Peters as provincial chairperson of the African National Congress. Block was forced to resign as provincial ANC chairperson and from his position as provincial minister of transport and roads after he admitted to abusing taxpayers’ money to fund his extravagant taste for jazz.

Six of 10 departments in the Free State provincial government are without permanent heads of department as fed-up senior managers leave in droves. Morale in the provincial government has dipped to an all-time low, staff say. Two heads of departments have resigned recently because of dissatisfaction with Premier Beatrice Marshoff. Two other heads, unhappily redeployed in September, are fighting the move in court.

Little more than a year into his presidency of the Pan Africanist Congress, Motsoko Pheko faces a coup at the party’s make-or-break conference to be held in Durban in December. Disgruntlement with his leadership is at fever pitch among regions and party chiefs. Pheko has absented himself from national executive committee (NEC) meetings since the April elections, where the PAC received only 0,73% of the votes.

The head office of the African National Congress has weighed into the succession debate, by expressing support for the Gauteng ANC, which has publicly raised the issue for debate. ANC Youth League president Fikile Mbalula and ANC KwaZulu-Natal leader S’bu Ndebele roundly condemned Gauteng for daring to suggest that the discussion on succession start now — ahead of the 2007 congress.

Two years ago this month, President Thabo Mbeki told Bekkersdal residents that he was so touched by their poverty the government would implement special measures to help them. Mbeki told about 10 000 residents: "After listening to all the issues raised, I have decided that we should make Bekkersdal a special project because it appears different from other places." Last week, a visit to the site showed only one visible sign of progress.

The trial of Schabir Shaik will put to the test not just him and Deputy President Jacob Zuma — but a groundswell of opinion in the African National Congress and its alliance partners that Zuma should be the country’s next president. The Gauteng ANC last week opened the debate about the presidential succession within the ANC, insisting that the matter should be raised long before the 2007 ANC conference.

The African National Congress’s powerful Gauteng provincial structures have insisted on starting the debate about who should be the next president of the organisation — and South Africa — seemingly in an effort to prevent the succession of Deputy President Jacob Zuma to the top spot after President Thabo Mbeki steps down.

The national public service strike did not succeed in shutting down South Africa on Thursday. But the government was wrong-footed by the strike turnout and the extent of public sympathy for the action, according to a strategically placed observer. While the strike call appears to have drawn a patchy response, the government was caught on the hop by the extent of public sympathy for teachers, nurses and other civil servants.

Free State Premier Beatrice Marshoff is facing a legal challenge to her authority by the heads of two key provincial government departments — who are believed to have the support of the African National Congress in the province. In July she announced a reshuffle of the provincial Cabinet, shifting four provincial directors general to different departments — in what was seen as a bid to consolidate her grip.

Grassroots membership of the African National Congress Youth League last week forced its leadership to withdraw comments that the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) general strike against privatisation was an act of insubordination aimed at overthrowing the government.

Delegates attending the recent African National Congress Youth League congress sang "<i>Asifunye-i-agenda yama capital</i> [We don’t want a capitalist agenda]". It was not clear whether the message was directed at South Africa’s economic path or the corporatist bent of the league’s leaders, but strained relations between ANC youth and young leftists are raising questions about the tripartite alliance.

The African National Congress has taken all six wards and emerged as the dominant party on the proportional representation ballot in this week’s by-elections for the troubled Mamusa Town Council, which covers the semi-rural town of Schweizer-Reinecke in the North West province. The council has a bank balance of R115 000, debtors amount to R27-million and creditors R3,6-million.

A summit to be held early next month will have to address the potentially divisive issues of a proposed basic income grant (BIG) and the pace and direction of black economic empowerment (BEE). In a recent meeting of Tripartite Alliance members, there was a debate on the need for decisive state intervention to overcome the divide between the country’s first and second economy.

The Free State premier is set to promote the man who helped her into the top spot — and then deploy him as her henchman against African National Congress rivals in the province. Last week Beatrice Marshoff announced the formation of a new policy coordination unit in her office that will oversee the work of all departments. The man who is likely to head it is Noby Ngombane.

In an about-face, the South Africa Medical Association (Sama) has written to the Department of Health and dissociated itself from further court action by doctors aimed at forcing the government to drop new medicine dispensing regulations. This comes after Sama has spent months urging doctors not to comply with the new dispensing regulations.

Hundreds of millions of rands in public funds have been wasted as key government development funders lurch from crisis to crisis, stalling the disbursement of crucial money. Committed to finding more creative ways than social grants to fight poverty, the government has put significant funds into development agencies — but the returns have in the main been minimal.

Hijacker and murderer William Kekana could have been stopped in his tracks six years ago if police had bothered to perform basic forensic work during his arrest, his policeman father believes. Kekana (20) was sentenced to life imprisonment and 35 years by the Pretoria High Court two weeks ago after being convicted of hijacking and killing Jacobus Geldenhuys.

Saheso farm school outside Ventersdorp in the North West province was closed early this year because it could not provide quality education and there was no support from the provincial department of education. Farm children across the country face conditions that make it impossible for them to receive an adequate basic education.

Backbencher Ismail Vadi, African National Congress MP for the past 10 years, is earmarked to chair the ad hoc committee on the Public Protector report on Bulelani Ngcuka’s investigation of Deputy President Jacob Zuma. It has become almost traditional for the ANC in Parliament to hand political hot potatoes to relative unknowns in its ranks.

Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi corrected the new Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, Buyelwa Patience Sonjica, when she said some targets would be met. Taking the microphone from her, he said: "No, not some targets will be met. All targets will be met." This is the kind of confidence displayed by Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu.

In the most significant move yet to prepare fresh leadership for the 2009 government, President Thabo Mbeki has enlarged the number of deputy ministers to 21, bringing in new faces with a diversity of experience. In the past he has also used these posts to create gender and racial balance in the Cabinet, to pay off political debts and accommodate factions in the African National Congress.

<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/41909/10-X-Logo.gif" align=left>Of all the political parties contesting the elections none has been hunting votes — from both the ruling African National Congress and from other opposition parties — as aggressively as the Democratic Alliance. Despite this, the party insists it has a positive campaign message: "South Africa Deserves Better". The DA is fighting tooth and nail to win over "soft" voters in every part of SA.

The Democratic Alliance is facing an exodus of black members, who accuse the party of racism in its ranks. This week the DA caucus in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, suspended two of its leaders in Thembisa, accusing them of encouraging members to desert the party and join the opposition.

When Gauteng minister of finance and economic affairs Jabu Moleketi tabled his final budget on Tuesday at the Gauteng legislature he received applause all round, even from his nemesis in the Democratic Alliance. Having been one of the few provincial ministers to serve two full terms in the provincial government, Moleketi is now headed for an unspecified national role.

The African National Congress’s decision not to release the names of its premier candidates suggests that all is not well within the provinces. The ANC has confirmed its decision and says it is not obliged to reveal the names because South Africa does not have a constituency-based system.

Although the Budget provides for an increase of 5% in further education and training (FET) spending per province, independent researchers believe that the money remains inadequate to deal with the challenges facing the sector. Details of the education vote suggest that most of the increased support will benefit schools, not colleges.

Opposition parties in Africa are always complaining that governments, secure in overwhelming majorities in their legislatures, ride roughshod over them. But many Southern African politicians point out that it is also crucial that opposition parties present themselves as credible — and better — alternatives to the existing governments.

The people have long grown impatient and it is starting to show. African National Congress branches have dwindled from the thousands the party had 10 years ago as people’s appetite for politics has diminished. But in 10 years’ time, where will the ruling ANC be? Rapule Tabane does some crystal-ball gazing.