Mbeki+loyalty+plan+flops,+Mpumelelo+Mkhabela,+City+Press

City Press, Johannesburg, 26/08/2006 21:41 - (SA)
=Mbeki loyalty plan flops=


 * MPUMELELO MKHABELA**

Attempts by President Thabo Mbeki's loyalists to get ANC MPs to pledge their undivided loyalty to the president failed this week.

A number of ANC MPs said they were surprised when ANC Chief Whip Mbulelo Goniwe unexpectedly tabled a document at the organisation's weekly caucus meeting which urged them to pledge their devotion to Mbeki.

The document analyses the depiction of the ANC as being led by two factions. It then urges acceptance by all members that Mbeki is its sole president. Their conduct should show that "President Mbeki is us, and we are President Mbeki".

It is this line that sparked anger at the meeting, according to one MP who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Most people were very angry. The meeting was tense. Some criticised the document for deviating from the ANC traditional line 'we are the ANC, and the ANC is us'," said another MP.

Another said: "Most comrades were unhappy with Goniwe because they felt that the document advocated that people take sides."

Goniwe eventually withdrew the document.

The document, presented as a "political report" from the Chief Whip's office, is seen as an attempt by Mbeki to firmly re-assert his authority in the party.

It came in a week when Mbeki:


 * Was directly attacked by ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma in court papers who effectively accused Mbeki of plotting his downfall ;
 * Took to the Eastern Cape where he pleaded with party leaders to stop the ANC's preoccupation with succession and, instead, concentrate on delivery of services;
 * Got the backing of the Nelson Mandela regional ANC which wants him to stand for a third term as ANC president;
 * Apparently dispatched Minister in the Presidency, Essop Pahad, to attend the high-profile walk to prison by Tony Yengeni . Pahad's presence was interpreted as an attempt to portray the Presidency as caring for comrades in trouble and not wanting to leave the space open for Zuma supporters.

Mbeki is understood to be on a mission to re-claim his authority and popularity within the party, where public perception is that the groundswell of support lies with Zuma and not him.

Mike Xego, regional deputy chairperson of the ANC in Port Elizabeth, who was part of the leadership addressed by Mbeki earlier in the week, said: "We declare that we will support the re-election of Mbeki as president of the ANC at the national conference in 2007. "

He said there was nothing in the constitution of the ANC that said Mbeki should not serve a third term. "The metro has taken it upon itself to begin a debate that would influence all the other regions to re-elect Mbeki at the next conference."

Although Xego gave the support of the region to Mbeki, he added that they would also support Jacob Zuma, deputy president of the ANC, during his difficult time.

During his visit to the Eastern Cape this week, Mbeki said he was satisfied with the way the ANC NEC, which supported his actions against Zuma, was handling the ongoing succession debacle. He, however, said the poor were more concerned about improvement in their living conditions.

"There was concern expressed by the provincial leadership that we mustn't take our eyes off this central task of the commitments that the ANC has made to the people of South Africa."

The discussions around succession in the ruling party needed to be handled in a manner "that doesn't result in the ANC taking its eyes off the big task that it has to carry out," he said.

"I doubt if they (the poor) are terribly interested in whether I have sworn at the deputy president or the deputy president has sworn at me. That's our business. (Their) business is that (they are) hungry and what are (we) doing about that?" Mbeki said.

Goniwe's attempt was reportedly rejected out of hand following what is believed to have been a short but "very tense" discussion. It was not on the agenda for the day, MPs said.

It was not for the first time that heated exchange took place among MPs. Those who were seen to be supportive of Mbeki were shouted down. Following a "joint agreement" between Mbeki and Zuma to communicate a coherent message, as instructed by the National Executive Committee on September 9 last year, MPs crossed swords when the agreement came up for discussion in November.

"Those who argued that the issue should be debated were shouted down by those who felt Zuma was dismissed unfairly (by Mbeki). Others felt that Zuma was not entitled to any position," said an MP.

Before the parliamentary recess in June this year, party chairman and Defence Minister Mosoiua Lekota was shouted down for attempting to re-assert Mbeki's authority. This happened after Mbeki apparently raised concerns that none of the senior ANC leaders were speaking for him.

Following many months of political campaigning by Zuma, disguised as thanksgiving efforts for ANC members who continued to support him throughout his rape and corruption trial, Mbeki has now decided to take the battle to key party structures. This started a few weeks ago when he complained to the NEC that that the party's divisions were hampering service delivery.

Mbeki's term in the ANC expires in December next year, while his state tenure constitutionally ends in 2009. The ANC's elective conference will be in December next year to elect leaders for the next term.


 * Additional reporting by CECIL PEARCE


 * From: http://www.news24.com/City_Press/News/0,,186-187_1988918,00.html**

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