ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile has called for unity and renewal of the governing tripartite alliance, saying it was important in addressing socioeconomic crises dogging SA.
The ANC is dogged by a trust deficit, infighting, governance challenges and declining electoral support that has seen it lose local councils to opposition parties. Independent surveys suggest the party’s electoral support could dip below the 50% mark in provincial and national elections in 2024.
Its relationship with its tripartite allies, Cosatu and the SA Communist Party, is strained with some in the labour federation wanting out of the alliance.
“Even when we face challenges within the alliance, we must not lose sight of its strategic importance. Unity of the alliance is of paramount importance,” said Mashatile, who was addressing a special national congress of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in Boksburg on Wednesday.
Mashatile was standing in for ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa, who was unavailable. He said the ANC expected NUM members to play a role in the renewal of the governing party.
NUM is one of the strongest members in the federation, with 162,000 members. Its voice carries weight in the labour federation.
“While we have made some progress in renewing and rebuilding the ANC, we must act with greater purpose and urgency going forward. We need to renew the ANC to narrow the social distance between us and our people,” Mashatile said.
“A renewed ANC is one that is not preoccupied with itself. It’s an ANC that’s in touch with the community ... and spends more time resolving problems ... renewal requires we build stronger alliance with the SACP and Cosatu. It’s also about winning the fight against corruption.
“Unity is the very basis our alliance was founded. Unity is therefore sacrosanct, it’s a fundamental principle and a pillar [on which] we will stand and fall. Without unity there can be no renewal and unity of the alliance.”
Meanwhile Mashatile, who was elected deputy president of the ANC at its elective conference in December, is tipped to take over as the country’s deputy president when Ramaphosa announces his new cabinet in the next few days. The post is vacant after the resignation of David Mabuza as an MP on Wednesday.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the president had committed to reconfigure his executive “in a matter of days” as pressure mounts to fill vacant posts within the cabinet as well as to remove non-performing ministers amid a worsening energy crisis that is stifling economic activity.
“There are vacancies in cabinet and we also now have a vacancy in the role of the deputy president, so there is a sense of urgency that the president fills those vacancies as soon as possible. In a matter of days that announcement will be made,” Magwenya said on Wednesday.
Business Day understands that ANC second deputy secretary-general Maropene Ramokgopa is being considered for transport minister as a replacement for Fikile Mbalula, who now heads the ANC’s secretary-general’s office. Ramaphosa’s infrastructure head, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, and former Eskom executive Dan Marokane are said to be in consideration for the new post of minister of electricity.
Mabuza’s exit is the second resignation in the ANC’s parliamentary caucus this week.
On Tuesday, finance minister Enoch Godongwana was sworn in as an MP, replacing ANC MP Mike Basopu from the Eastern Cape, who resigned on Monday.
Godongwana, who was appointed in 2021 as former finance minister Tito Mboweni’s replacement, is one of two nonparliamentary cabinet members, the other being trade, industry & competition minister Ebrahim Patel.
By law, the president is permitted to appoint a maximum of two people to his executive who are not MPs.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.