Warnings against ANC witch-hunt

THE witch-hunt against ANC MPS who recently voted with opposition parties for President Jacob Zuma’s removal is dividing the ANC and the tripartite alliance.

Yesterday Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe joined growing calls for MPS who voted against the party line to explain their actions.

It remained to be seen how it was going to be determined which of the MPS defied the party as the vote was held in secret.

On Friday, ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize also called for action against the defiant MPS, joining former Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, the ANC in Kwazulu-natal, the ANC Youth League and the Umkhonto We Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association.

But Luthuli House, the ANC headquarters, the SACP and Cosatu have cautioned against the witch-hunt.

Presidential hopeful Lindiwe Sisulu yesterday warned against such a move.

Radebe accused the MPS of going against the national executive committee (NEC) instruction not to vote against against the president.

“The majority of ANC members voted against the motion of no confidence, which was pushed by the DA with the aim of collapsing the ANC government. It is those individual members who must explain themselves if ever we are going to find out who they are.

“I don’t want to be part of a witchhunt, but what is important is that the motion failed,” he said.

Addressing the ANC’S Lower South Coast branches yesterday, Radebe ended speculation about his future by accepting endorsement for the ANC presidential candidacy. He told the media he was ready for the responsibility if the branches deployed him.

Also on a campaign trail, Sisulu, the Human Settlements Minister and an NEC member, spoke out against those who wanted to discipline party MPS, saying it was not wrong to vote with your conscience.

Speaking on the sidelines of a rally in Knysna, the Western Cape, where she was backed by the Ward 4 branch to stand for the ANC presidency, she said there was not a shred of evidence to prove how MPS voted.

Sisulu said those who listed her and others on social media as having voted against the president were malicious. She said the reckless move would endanger the lives of those named on the fake list, adding that voting with your conscience did not mean voting in support of the motion.

Sisulu said the party needed to take note of members’ actions. “Those in the ANC who voted for the motion sent a message to us that they are unhappy.

“I don’t know why society is focusing on who voted which way. The essence is the message.”

Sisulu said she would like to see disciplinary action taken against those who had accused others of voting in support of the motion.

“How do you discipline somebody when it was a secret vote? I don’t know. We are chasing our shadow,” she said.