ANC closes ranks behind Zuma: no party dissent

The ANC top brass has let President Jacob Zuma off the hook.

This, despite Zuma having breached a resolution of the ANC national conference by reshuffling his Cabinet without consultation.

In fact, the party’s national working committee (NWC) gave no indication that it would punish Zuma, or that it would ask him to reverse his unprocedural appointments.

Instead, party secretary-general Gwede Mantashe warned that no ANC member was allowed to vote with the opposition in parliament, provincial legislatures and municipalities against Zuma or campaign for him to resign.

“There will be no ANC member who will vote on a motion of no confidence with the opposition. That will be uncharacteristic,” Mantashe said. He said this applied also to the ousted finance minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas.

Mantashe said the NWC had accepted Zuma’s explanation for axing Gordhan. The president, who planned to fire the minister last December, but had to wait at the request of the leadership, took the decision due to irretrievably broken down relations between him and Gordhan.

But Mantashe tactically dodged a question regarding whether Zuma had explained to them where he got his controversial list of new Cabinet ministers from that his top colleagues had objected to. Mantashe, ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa and party treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize had publicly opposed the reshuffle, saying they were not consulted about it.

But yesterday, Mantashe said they have acknowledged that their public dissonance on the matter was a mistake.

The NWC had subsequently ac- cepted the new Cabinet, and Mantashe expressed confidence in the new Finance Minister, Malusi Gigaba, and his deputy, Sfiso Buthelezi.

ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte also refuted reports that the ANC integrity commission had recommended Zuma step down or be recalled. Mantashe said the ANC office-bearers would engage SACP, Cosatu and organs of civil society on their call for Zuma to resign.

This flies in the face of civil society’s plan, including religious leaders, to mobilising for a national protest march in Pretoria to call for Zuma to step down.