President Cyril Ramaphosa displayed a show of force after a three-day meeting of the ANC’s highest decision-making body between conferences, winning its support for his leadership and his vow to fight corruption.
In an unprecedented move, Ramaphosa, who faced up to what he described as "choreographed" attacks against him, addressed the media on Monday after the weekend’s special national executive committee (NEC) meeting.
The communicating of the outcomes of an NEC briefing is usually done by secretary-general Ace Magashule, who is seen as aligned to Ramaphosa’s predecessor Jacob Zuma, who launched a public attack on the president on Friday.
Ramaphosa confronted his detractors in the NEC over corruption and the governing party’s reluctance to act against it, even allowing people who have been criminally charged to continue serving as public representatives.
The president and the ANC have come under increasing pressure as public anger grows over allegations of corruption, most recently related to SA’s Covid-19 response. This while Ramaphosa had pledged to put the country back on a growth path at a time when the economy is forecast to suffer its deepest contraction in almost a century.
In the build-up to the meeting, Zuma launched a scathing attack on Ramaphosa over a letter the president had written to party members a week earlier describing the ANC as "accused No 1" over corruption.
There was also a letter from Andile Lungisa, a councillor in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality who has been convicted of assault, calling on Ramaphosa to appear before the party’s integrity commission over issues related to the funding of his campaign to become ANC president. NEC member Tony Yengeni had also suggested that Ramaphosa should step aside over that matter.
The NEC, however, endorsed Ramaphosa’s letter.
"The NEC emphasised that what seems to be a choreographed campaign against the president will not distract the movement from undertaking an intensified programme against corruption and state capture, as mandated by the 54th national conference," Ramaphosa said.
"In this regard, we will also work with other sectors of society and the broader population to confront this scourge," he said in the briefing.
The NEC had decided that those who were formally charged for corruption, or other serious crimes, must immediately step aside from all leadership positions in the ANC, legislatures or other government structures pending the finalisation of their cases.
Ahead of Monday’s post-NEC briefing, ANC MP Bongani Bongo, who is facing corruption charges relating to an alleged bribe offered to the evidence leader in parliament’s inquiry into state capture, was told to step aside as NEC member and from his role in parliament.
Lungisa was also informed by the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay to resign from the council and step down from a regional task team.
While the ANC outlined the process of members who faced serious allegations having to appear before the integrity commission, Ramaphosa said the party was still putting mechanisms in place and would be meeting with elders who sit on the committee, to discuss how to "strengthen its role".
There has been little faith in the ANC’s integrity commission, which is made up of party elders, as its decisions have been ignored in the past.
Ramaphosa said he believed the integrity commission’s reports should be binding, but that this would be part of the discussion.
The ANC president also confirmed he would appear before the integrity commission himself to answer questions on his campaign funds. Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s investigation report into Ramaphosa’s campaign funds was set aside by a high court in March 2020.
Ramaphosa was not willing to talk about Zuma’s letter, saying he had not responded to it.
"I receive many letters as president of the ANC and this letter happens to be one of those and I have not responded … I don’t even know what the reasoning for the letter was and will not publicly entertain issues that are raised in the letter because I think it is important as leaders, where we are, that if we are to engage in discussions, we should do it in the confines of our movement," he said, denying it was a "power contest".
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