The ANC’s newly elected provincial leadership in KwaZulu-Natal has called for the scrapping of the step aside resolution, which has stifled the political ambitions of party leaders in the province and elsewhere.
New provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo told Business Day on Monday that the province will have the matter tabled at the ANC policy conference this week.
The rule was adopted in 2017 at the ANC’s 54th national conference at Nasrec. It says members charged with corruption and other serious charges must voluntarily step aside. Party figures such as secretary-general Ace Magashule, former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, Limpopo party strongman Danny Msiza and Mandla Msibi in Mpumalanga have already fallen foul of the rule.
“This is a big concern for our leadership as we believe that the rule is illegal and unconstitutional. We believe it infringes on the rights of our members who are presumed guilty until proven innocent in a court of law. In simple terms you are guilty and charged and then must prove yourself innocent later,” said Mtolo.
“The ANC is the only political party where this rule applies. It is used as a means of suppressing and alienating members, and it ought to be scrapped. It affects KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Free State and Mpumalanga,” added Mtolo.
Mtolo, also the mayor of Kokstad, said 182 members from will be attending the ANC’s sixth policy conference at Nasrec in Gauteng on July 28-31.
At the weekend the provincial ANC conference voted in MPL Siboniso Duma as chair, taking over from Sihle Zikalala, who lost by 265 votes.
The new leadership released its final 35-member provincial executive committee list and additional regional members list and Zikalala’s name was not on it. This was despite Duma saying the region is united and there will be no “purge” and Zikalala will keep his position as premier.
Business Day’s attempts to get comment from Zikalala proved fruitless as he was in meetings with Duma.
Duma is a former ANC Youth League leader representing the “Taliban” faction linked to former health minister Zweli Mkhize. The win by Duma and his colleagues represented a landslide victory against those linked to the “Ankole” faction of President Cyril Ramapahosa. The president closed the contested conference on Sunday evening.
Another shock coming out the conference was the loss by finance MEC Nomusa-Dube Ncube, who was touted for the position of chair and the first female premier of the province. She failed to muster the required numbers from the floor when nominated. But she is placed second on the additional member list.
Political analyst Bheki Mngomezulu suggested that the party look to other political parties and the private sector to deal with corruption and graft allegations against its members.
“The step aside rule has become a problem and a number of provinces affected have found common ground to say it must be scrapped altogether,” he said. “It is my understanding that when this rule was adopted the political mood at the time was different to now. Excitement prevented the delegates at the 2017 conference from looking seriously into the consequences of the rule.”
Mngomezulu said there are two interpretations. “The first is that one has to step aside when there are serious allegations against a person. The second is that when you have been formally charged then you also step aside.
“Imagine if the person is cleared by the courts, then coming back afterwards when the train has left the station is a little too late. This has become contentious under the current climate and the implementation of the rule is proving problematic,” he added.
He said the Zikalala matter is not simple. “While Duma has given him a lifeline, it’s clear that the branches voted in the additional members and that they lost confidence in Zikalala.”
He said for the sake of peace and unity it would be wise for the new leadership to allow him to see out his term in office.
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