Finance minister Enoch Godongwana plans to raise his hand to stand for the position of ANC treasurer-general when the party holds its internal leadership contest in December, seeking to capitalise on proposed changes in the party’s constitution that will pave the way for him to hold the two positions at the same time.
“There is a proposal to amend the [ANC] constitution ... to allow that position to not be full-time and there is also a proposal to allow for more than one deputy secretary-general,” he said.
“If the [ANC] constitution is not amended [in December], I will not avail myself.”
His comments to Business Day came as the ANC considers reviving proposals that are more than a decade old to change the constitution of the party, which, if successful, would allow Godongwana be both head of SA’s finances and the governing party’s purse.
The proposal would require the approval of two-thirds of the 4,000 delegates at the national elective conference in December to pass. If Godongwana is nominated and elected, he would inherit a role that has exposed the poor financial state of the ANC and threatens to undermine its efforts to recast itself as well-run steward of the country. The position is occupied by Paul Mashatile, whose name has been thrown about as the next party deputy president.
The treasurer-general’s office of the ANC has consistently failed to pay workers’ salaries totalling an estimated R17m. And the Financial Sector Conduct Authority has ordered the ANC staff provident fund to compel the party to settle about R86m in accumulated contribution arrears that it owes members of the fund.
Godongwana, a former chair of the ANC’s subcommittee on economic transformation, is the most senior cabinet member and is regarded as a key ally of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is seeking a second term as party president.
Godongwana’s appointment as the country’s finance chief by Ramaphosa after the departure of Tito Mboweni in August 2021 coincided with the government’s plans to achieve a primary budget surplus in the 2024 fiscal year as it pushes ahead with steadying SA’s volatile finances.
Godongwana is scheduled to deliver his medium-term budget in October, outlining the government’s progress in ensuring that revenue exceeds non-interest spending by its self-imposed two-year deadline.
However, his tenure at the helm of the National Treasury could be threatened by the sexual harassment allegations against him. He has denied the allegations, saying the ANC’s internal processes and the country’s legal processes should be followed.
He is yet to be publicly endorsed by any of the ANC’s nine provincial executive committees or structures but says he has been nominated to stand for the position by various branches in Limpopo, the Free State, Western Cape and the Eastern Cape. Branches in the ANC have the final say on which candidates are placed on the ballot paper. A candidate requires 25% support from either branch nominations or the conference floor to make it to the ballot paper.
Nomination process
Godongwana’s comments come after the start of the ANC nomination process by branches last week. Should he garner enough nominations to be on the ballot paper, it would put the Eastern Cape region in a tight spot as it is ANC tradition to ensure that the party’s top six officials are from different provinces of the country so as not to prejudice one province over another.
The provincial executive committee has endorsed party chair Gwede Mantashe to be re-elected and provincial chair Oscar Mabuyane to be elected as deputy president, a position occupied by David Mabuza.
Godongwana and Mantashe, as well as minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele, are believed to be a part of an ANC internal grouping colloquially known as the Chris Hani cabal, because all three come from the ANC’s Chris Hani region in the Eastern Cape.
The grouping is believed to be part of a wider grouping in the ANC’s national executive committee that has pushed for Ramaphosa to be re-elected.
However, Godongwana has rejected claims of the cabal, saying “it does not exist”.
Other candidates who have been touted as in the running for treasurer-general are former mayor of Ekurhuleni Mzwandile Masina and party spokesperson Pule Mabe, who told Business Day that he is available to stand should he be nominated from branches.
Mabe, a who is former treasurer general of the ANC Youth League, says the he supports proposals to add additional members to the ANC’s top-six officials. However, he says the treasurer-general’s position should be spilt into two, with one treasurer general being responsible for policy and oversight and the other being responsible for fundraising and operations.
“This will help us fix the movement’s financial challenges,” he said
“All nominations will be consolidated by the electoral committee chaired by Kgalema Motlanthe by late October, and the consolidated list of nominees will then be distributed to ANC structures for information prior to the 55th national conference.”
Update: September 22 2022
This story has been updated with quotes from details from ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe.
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