Sunday Times ( 3/2/2008 ) — 02/03/2008
FEAR GRIPS ANC OFFICE-HOLDERS AS THE PURGE BEGINS
Zine George, Ndivhuho Mafela, Mpumelelo Mkhabela, Bongani Mthethwa and Dominic Mahlangu. Additional
Loyalty tests in the corridors of power as ANC factioneering takes effect

Fear stalks the corridors of ANC power as new president Jacob Zuma asserts his authority in Parliament, provinces and party structures. Top ANC leaders were told this week that many party members feared being axed from government positions because of their perceived loyalty to outgoing President Thabo Mbeki, who was ousted from the party leadership in December. ANC MPs conveyed their anxiety to ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe, deputy secretary-general Thandi Modise and national chairman Baleka Mbete in a closed lekgotla (assembly) of the ANC’s parliamentary caucus on Thursday.
 
Fears were fuelled by:
1. Warnings by Zuma on Friday that ANC leaders desist from wrestling for power, 'gossiping' and 'back-stabbing' in efforts to unseat each other;
2. KwaZulu-Natal premier S'bu Ndebele, Mpumalanga's Thabang Makwetla, North West's Edna Molewa and Limpopo's Sello Moloto (who are all provincial chairmen and Mbeki supporters) being excluded from lobby lists circulating ahead of provincial conference season, which begins in April;
3. Talk that at least two metro mayors are set to be ousted;
4. The Eastern Cape’s most powerful region, OR Tambo, formally proposing that Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and his deputy, Mluleki George, be hauled before a disciplinary panel for their alleged 'indiscipline' because of their vocal opposition to Zuma ahead of and at the ANC's December conference;
5. The Western Cape party lekgotla on Friday moving a step closer to dismissing premier Ebrahim Rasool, an Mbeki loyalist, by instructing the party's provincial leaders to prepare a case against him for the National Executive Committee; and
6. One MP telling leaders at the parliamentary caucus lekgotla that there was 'widespread uncertainty, insecurity and fear at all levels of government', sparked by last week's announcement of changes in the ANC’s parliamentary leadership.
Modise assured caucus members that there was no need for 'uncertainty' and 'insecurity'.
 
No moratorium on Cabinet reshuffles - SACP leader
ANC secretary-general [and South African Communist Party chairman as well as former secretary-general of the Congress of South African Trade Unions – ed] Gwede Mantashe told the Sunday Times on the sidelines of the party's Eastern Cape lekgotla that there would not be a purge, but added: 'We cannot claim there is a moratorium on Cabinet reshuffles.' At the Parliament meeting, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka distributed the government's programme-of- action document but later withdrew it from MPs, saying it was confidential. That sparked concern among MPs, who felt that the government did not trust them. MPs were left with Motlanthe's 45-page document outlining the ANC's priorities for the year.
 
ANC not about 'people securing positions for themselves' - Zuma
At the parliamentary lekgotla, Zuma told MPs not to perpetuate the perception that the ANC was all about people securing positions for themselves. He said: 'Whether people are in the ANC or government they are all ANC members; it is just that there are not enough positions for all of us. If you have been voted out of a position you must continue to contribute to the party because you are still a member', reported one MP who was present. An MP said Zuma had told the caucus lekgotla that he was 'personally bothered' by the whispering campaigns. He delivered the same message to the Western Cape provincial caucus an hour later, accusing rival factions of leaking stories to the media to damage rivals when they could not get their own way. In KwaZulu-Natal , business tycoon and NEC member Tokyo Sexwale said talks of a purge of Mbeki's backers within the organisation were mischievous. 'Whatever changes do happen in the ANC happen because the change is always there. Change of leadership has occurred in Polokwane. It's grossly unacceptable to view those changes as purges,' he said. An ANC insider attending the KwaZulu Natal lekgotla confirmed, however, that there was a climate of fear, with people believing that Mbeki supporters would be elbowed out. 'Definitely there’s an element of fear. When we went to Polokwane there was already an element of fear. There are comrades who were pushing for the third term (for Mbeki) and those comrades won't get much support from those who were pushing for Zuma to become ANC president,' he said.

Action proposed against those who criticised 'anarchists’ and 'howlers'
This comes as Zuma's main backers in the Eastern Cape, the OR Tambo region, called for Lekota to be censured for his attacks on Zuma and for George to be disciplined for calling Zuma and his supporters 'anarchists' and 'howlers'. Provincial secretary Siphatho Handi confirmed receiving OR Tambo’s submission, but could not recall names mentioned. 'It's unfortunate that people continue to plot against others,' he said. Party leaders told the Sunday Times there were moves afoot to oust Eastern Cape premier Nosima Balindlela, but that others felt it was too late in the term of the current government. 'Any changes will create more instability,' said an NEC member aligned with Zuma.
 
Action will be taken - Mantashe
Mantashe said he was not aware of disciplinary complaints against Lekota or George, but said action would be taken against those found to have misbehaved. 'If there are people who are charged with misbehaving during that conference, the ANC constitution is clear - we will take the appropriate action,' he said. He did not rule out Cabinet reshuffles at all levels of government 'when necessary’ but he denied that a Free State Cabinet shuffle, in which two MECs were axed three weeks ago, was a result of the Polokwane conference. On the fears sparked by the recent changes, Mantashe said: 'If people are frightened, we can't stop that. We said long before, we are not going to chop and change things just because there are newly elected leaders. But at the same time we cannot claim that there is a moratorium on Cabinet reshuffles.'
 
The ANC: a party at war with itself?
The Sunday Times understands that more changes are under way, following the NEC's decision that chief whips should be appointed from among its members. Following the appointment of Nathi Mthethwa as ANC chief whip, speculation is rife that the ANC's National Council of Provinces chief whip Vusi Windvoel and House deputy chairman Peggy Hollander will be replaced by NEC members Sicelo Shiceka and Nosipho Ntwanambi. A senior leader close to Mbeki said the challenge facing the ANC was to make changes carefully. If the transition was not handled properly the party would be 'at war with itself'. Motlanthe told the Polokwane conference that the party's new National Executive Committee would investigate all allegations of misconduct. He said the axing of Agriculture MEC Suzan Mnunzana and Safety and Security MEC Zanele Dlungwana, who were respectively replaced by Mamiki Qabathean Mxolisi Dukwana, were planned prior Polokwane. This is despite Premier Bretreace Marshoff’s explanation that the changes were made in consultation with the new ANC leadership.