ANC vets demand change
FORMER military commanders, including a former cabinet minister and former and current ambassadors, are calling for the ANC to remove President Jacob Zuma to prevent “massive, irreparable damage to the economy”.
In a strongly worded memorandum delivered to the ANC’s national executive committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, the group of Umkhonto weSizwe commanders say they cannot remain silent “in the
face of this most undemocratic and dangerous development”.
The salvo comes in a week when Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas revealed how the Gupta brothers offered him the finance portfolio days before Zuma fired finance minister Nhlanhla Nene in December. Zuma’s son, Duduzane, was present at this meeting.
Former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor also came out this week about the Guptas offering her a cabinet position.
The Sunday Times understands that ANC heavyweights led by former MK chief of staff and former communications minister General Siphiwe Nyanda on Friday delivered a memo to ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe at the party’s NEC meeting in Irene, Tshwane, hoping it would be discussed before the end of today.
The memo is signed by veterans Mavuso Msimang, James Nculu, Moe Shaik, Gibson Njenje, Snuki Zikalala, Ayanda Ntsaluba, Johnny Sexwale, Jabu Moleketi and others.
They raise issues that have “plunged” the country into “an uncertain and perilous future” and which communicate a message that “all is not well with our movement and in the state”.
Central to their anger is the reported role the Guptas play in influencing the appointment of ministers and board members at state-owned enterprises.
“On whose authority does the Gupta family act?” they ask.
“In the absence of any coherent explanation . . . we are forced to speculate that important decisions of state are subject to outside influence and unilateralism without any regard to the wellbeing of the country or our people.”
Other issues of concern are the removal of Nene and his redeployment to a “junior post”, the manner in which the Hawks are conducting the investigation into the SARS “rogue unit”, the party’s relationship with its alliance partners, factional fights in the party and the destabilisation of institutions.
The veterans heaped praise on Jonas, saying he acted with the interests of the ANC at heart.
When contacted for comment yesterday, Nyanda said he was not at liberty to discuss the matter with the media.
“I didn’t take the memorandum to the media so I can’t talk about it because we sent it to the secretary-general of the ANC. We want the matter to be discussed in the sittings of the leadership of the ANC,” said Nyanda.
The document includes an appeal for a special national conference to be convened to “rescue” the image of the ANC and that of the state.
A special national conference would mean the election of a new ANC leadership and possibly the removal of Zuma as the party’s leader.
Msimang went to the NEC meeting yesterday hoping the memorandum would be discussed. He too did not want to comment on it.
“I don’t think we want to go public with it until there is a response. This is us saying we are putting these issues for-
Important decisions of the state are subject to outside influence
ward. We are old people. I think if we go public before we have given them an opportunity — which is the end of the meeting whenever it is — we would have been seen to have done this in bad faith,” said Msimang.
The Sunday Times understands that the NEC decided against discussing the Jonas and Gupta matter.
It is said to have recommended that Jonas and other leaders who claimed to have been offered positions by the Gupta family appear before the ANC’s top six leaders. They would submit a report to the NEC for consideration.
The NEC further recommended that the ANC’s top six officials meet the Gupta family again to hear their side.
The meeting resolved that there would not be a recall of Zuma and the NEC should publicly state that Zuma would complete his second term as ANC president and state president.
SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande told the Sunday Times in a separate interview on the Guptas that by raising issues about them the party was not attacking the president.