In a radical shift meant to weed out rogue and corrupt elements within the ANC, the party’s top six is proposing changes to its constitution to allow it to expel members found guilty of crimes such as murder, graft, rape and sexual assault.
The party’s national working committee wants those convicted of serious crimes to be expelled from the party automatically once found guilty of criminal offences. These include murder, rape, sexual assault, serious violence, drug trafficking, money laundering or racketeering, and gang violence.
The proposals were drafted by the chair of the ANC legal affairs subcommittee Ronald Lamola and circulated by acting ANC secretary-general Paul Mashatile to all structures of the party.
The document reads: “Any member, office bearer, public representative or deployee who has been convicted of an act of misconduct shall be ineligible to be or remain a member of the ANC and shall be expelled from the organisation if he/she is convicted and sentenced by a court of law.”
The amendment is likely to stir a further pushback from factions of the party that are already unhappy with its step-aside policy, which was enforced at its Nasrec elective conference. They allege it is being selectively used to frustrate internal political enemies. But those in favour say it is the only way the party can rid itself of bad apples and will go a long way in cleansing it.
The ANC, which has lost not only electoral support in successive elections, is also trying to regain its standing as the leader of society. Analyst Ralph Mathekga said the proposal signals that the ANC top brass had the political will to renew the party, but he doubted the amendment would see the light of day.
Step-aside rule
For that to happen, the party will have to change its constitution at its December elective conference, a move that would require a two-thirds majority. It will be difficult to persuade the provinces with the largest delegations to the conference — KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, which are irked by the step-aside ruling.
It will mean that if former president Jacob Zuma is convicted, “he will be expelled. It is a far-reaching move, and I think the strongest in terms of setting criteria for the application of the step-aside rule,” Mathekga said.
Zuma has already been found guilty of contempt of court and is still in court on a slew of charges ranging from corruption and money laundering to fraud. Zuma, though retired, has remained an irritant for the current ANC leadership under Cyril Ramaphosa. His influence, largely in KwaZulu-Natal, has continued to stifle Ramaphosa’s efforts to renew the party.
The secretary-general of the party, Ace Magashule is also facing corruption and money-laundering charges. So is former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede. In Mpumalanga, a key Ramaphosa ally, Mandla Msibi, is facing murder charges.
Years of corruption, state capture and cadre deployment have seen the party lose touch with its support base, and losing key metros such as Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni to DA-led coalitions. The latest Ipsos poll released on Monday says the ANC’s support could go to 42% at the 2024 polls.
Ramaphosa, who was elected on an anticorruption ticket to lead the party in 2017, acknowledged recently that the olive branch he had extended to his political opponents to prioritise the unity of the ANC was not working.
Speaking at the ANC’s national policy conference in July, he argued the party should unite around its values, rather than individuals and self-interest, and its mission must be to come together against corruption, patronage and factionalism.
“The people of SA will not forgive us if we abandon the correct positions that we have taken on confronting wrongdoing within our ranks. History will not forgive us,” he said then.
Former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe last month dared the leadership to draw a line in the sand against the rot and urged the current ANC leadership to embark on a process of cleansing.
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