Ramaphosa laments lack of unity in ANC
IN A telling political overview delivered exclusively for national executive committee (NEC) members who are meeting for the last time this year, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa said the party was increasingly at war with itself.
Delivering his 11-page political overview of the party yesterday, Ramaphosa spoke about unity and corruption – among other issues.
He lamented that unity is becoming elusive and, unlike in the past where their divisions were managed and kept internally, they were now in the public domain.
He said “the challenge we face is not only about the implementation of conference resolutions and NEC decisions. There is a far deeper problem of revolutionary discipline and consciousness.
“In the documentation for this NEC, we are provided with no fewer than five legal opinions on the implementation of our so-called ‘stepping aside’ resolution.
“I am certain that there are none among of us who ever would have thought that the deliberations of the national executive committee would have come to this. As members of a voluntary organisation, we are all bound by our constitution, by the resolutions of our conferences and by the decisions of our structures.”
This comes as his supporters both inside and outside the NEC are gunning for the party’s secretary-general, Ace Magashule, calling on him to step aside since he is facing corruption charges emanating from the Free State asbestos project worth R255 million.
Making the virtual meeting more interesting was the sudden resurfacing of former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. While their inputs were not known by yesterday, it is believed their presence was to back the two main factions who are wrangling over the “step aside” resolution.
On the party’s unity, Ramaphosa said despite numerous resolutions and repeated pronouncements, it remains elusive.
“As has been the case for a long time, the divisions within our movement are most pronounced at a leadership level. The period following the 54th national conference was characterised by greater cohesion and unity of purpose within the organisation, but now divisions are becoming more apparent and factions are emerging once again.
“These divisions are manifesting themselves not just in our structures, but in public demonstrations of dissent and discord. In recent times, we have witnessed statements and actions that are alien to the practices, culture and values of our movement. We increasingly appear like an organisation at war with itself,” Ramaphosa said.
He added that many of the challenges they face as a party are due to the lack of a common and coherent approach to the measures they must take to address allegations of corruption and other serious crimes against leaders and cadres of our movement.
The meeting concludes today.