By T Markanda
The battle lines are drawn, the gloves are off as the ANC factions square up against each other in the open. President Cyril Ramaphosa temporarily suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule (on May 3) and then in a surprise tit-for-tat move the secretary-general unilaterally suspended the president from the ANC.
This defiant stance from Magashule forced the NEC to convene another urgent meeting.
On Monday, May 10, Ramaphosa delivered the NEC’s verdict that Magashule’s conduct was “completely unacceptable and a flagrant violation of the rules, norms and values of the ANC” and that it had given him an ultimatum to make a public apology to the president and also to the ANC structures, failing which disciplinary procedures would be instituted.
In this open conflict between the president and the secretary-general, at least one positive outcome emerges: the NEC has rallied around the president and presented a united front in its fight against corruption and Magashule.
But there is a serious flip side to all of this. The factionalism that is tearing the ANC apart is not only bad for the party but also not good for the country. At the moment, the ANC is a crippled organisation and cannot govern the country effectively.
The Star