Mbeki raises concerns about the state of the ANC

JOHANNESBURG - Former President Thabo Mbeki has expressed concern over the state of the ANC after various national executive committee (NEC) members said they believed the party was about to collapse.

According to an NEC insider, Mbeki told the meeting that the ANC was on the verge of collapse and that something had to be done urgently.

In a leaked audio recording from the meeting, he could be heard summarising concerns expressed by another NEC member, who called for a two- or three- day retreat to discuss the question: "Do we still have any organisation called the ANC?"

The former president also mentioned that ANC Women's League (ANCWL) leader Bathabile Dlamini and league secretary-general, Meokgo Matuba, told the gathering, on behalf of the league, that the "movement is about to collapse."

On another recording from the previous day, Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha put forward a similar suggestion to the one about the retreat.

There were also concerns about the way the virtual NEC meeting, now in its second day, was proceeding.

Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule attempted to attend the meeting on Saturday, but was booted off after an hour. There were also reports that ANC MP Bongani Bongo, who is also facing corruption charges, suffered the same fate.

Magashule met with Mbeki last week, after the NEC asked him at its last meeting, at the end of March, to consult former leaders of the party before stepping down.

However, Magashule declined to step down which meant that the ANC had no choice but to suspend him.

Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa admitted, in his political address, that the crisis in the party was embarrassing, and he lamented that senior officials acted in a way that was not exemplary.