Shadowy+tales+find+purchase+in+ANC,+Karima+Brown,+Business+Day

Business Day, Johannesburg, 26 September 2006
=Shadowy tales find purchase in ANC’s top reaches=


 * Karima Brown**

THE knives are out for President Thabo Mbeki in the African National Congress (ANC) and the tripartite alliance. It has become clear that there is a growing perception — rightly or wrongly — held by senior members of the ruling party and, dare I say it, even among some cabinet members, that state institutions are being used to settle political scores in the ANC’s ugly succession battle.

Since Judge Herbert Msimang struck ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma’s corruption case off the court roll last Wednesday, ANC national executive committee (NEC) members and government leaders appear to have been emboldened enough to strike out at Mbeki’s administration. At the weekend, Mbeki’s one-time friend and ally, Ngoako Ramatlhodi, launched a blistering assault on the president at an ANC gathering in Free State, accusing Mbeki of being the “source of division” in the ANC. Granted, those familiar with power politics in the ANC are not surprised by Ramatlhodi’s attack. Recently he has been speaking publicly about his unhappiness with Mbeki and many say it was only a matter of time before the fallout between the two came to a head.

Yet the former Limpopo premier and presidential confidant is echoing the sentiments of many of his fellow ANC comrades. ANC insiders describe Ramatlhodi as part of the “walking wounded”, a “casualty” of an increasingly ugly battle between contending factions within the party. According to senior ANC NEC members, Ramatlhodi has joined a long line of “close associates” — including former National Intelligence Agency boss Billy Masetlha — who have fallen foul of Mbeki. They peddle conspiracy theories of how Ramatlhodi was once earmarked by Mbeki to head the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), but how instead he became the subject of an investigation by that very agency after allegedly refusing to be part of Mbeki’s inner circle who wanted to “dictate his brief” at the NPA.

They talk about how Ramatlhodi’s political career in an Mbeki administration came to an abrupt end after he apparently refused to be part of a plan to use the Scorpions to “settle political scores” in the party. I recently put this conspiracy theory to Ramatlhodi and his response was simply: “I cannot confirm nor deny it.”

Of course, the ANC is awash with conspiracy theories about the succession battle and it is not inconceivable that Ramatlhodi’s falling out of favour was unrelated to internal wrangling in the ANC. But the fact that he was never charged with corruption does lend credence to the argument that he was the victim of internal party machinations and that the NPA’s probe was merely a ruse to teach him a lesson for refusing to play ball. Sounds familiar? It is the same point Zuma supporters made after the NPA could not produce a final charge sheet against him after a six-year investigation into the arms deal.

Whether fairly or not, the NPA is now being accused of pursuing a political agenda to bring down certain politicians, rather than a judicial imperative to fight corruption and other crime. That this perception has gained currency within the ruling party is disconcerting, given the pervasive nature of corruption in public life.

Whatever the truth, Mbeki and the government have been unable to manage the perception, which has become entrenched among sections of the ANC’s top brass, that state institutions have been used to settle political scores. One has only to look at the ruling party’s timid response to Ramatlhodi’s unambiguous assault on the president to see the leadership’s paralysis on the matter. All the ANC could muster in Mbeki’s defence was that it had “noted” media reports regarding Ramatlhodi’s comments.

The party said: “The ANC reaffirms the positions adopted in November last year by the National Executive Committee (NEC) on the challenges facing the organisation, and the joint statement of the ANC president and deputy president. This includes the paramount importance of the unity and cohesion of the ANC, and the reaffirmation by the NEC that, whatever its diversity, there is one ANC.”

The NEC in November “unanimously rejected the notion that individuals are required to choose sides, on the basis of the absolutely false assertion that the president and deputy president are leading contending factions within the movement”.

The leadership’s insistence that there is only “one” ANC, despite the fact that the organisation is obviously deeply divided, is an indication of the levels of denial among the top brass and just how out of touch they seem to be with the mood of the rank and file — especially towards the president. The NEC urgently needs to acknowledge the crisis within its ranks and develop a coherent plan to deal with it.


 * Brown is political editor.


 * From: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/opinion.aspx?ID=BD4A277781**

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