Ace ‘wants to run party and province’
● ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule is planning to remain Free State premier instead of moving to Luthuli House full time.
ANC insiders in the Free State told the Sunday Times that Magashule had told his close allies he would keep both positions. The secretary-general is like a CEO of the ANC, in charge of day-to-day business.
Magashule, according to insiders, cited former North West premier Thandi Modise, who kept that position in 2010 while deputy secretary-general of the party.
Free State ANC spokesman Thabo Meeko said the claims were “rumours and speculations”.
Magashule did not respond to questions sent to him. But a party leader in the Free State said Magashule had been telling people that he was not moving to Johannesburg.
“Ace Magashule is refusing to resign as Free State premier. He wants to serve as both ANC secretary-general and premier at the same time and he cites Thandi Modise’s case . . . as precedent,” said one insider.
Another insider said that Magashule was wrong to use Modise’s as an example.
“Even then we told the national leadership that Comrade Thandi’s deployment at the time set a wrong precedent. The new national executive committee must decide on this matter . . . he can’t have his cake and eat it. The SG’s office is the engine room of the ANC. It can’t be run by remote control.”
Magashule’s reported plan is expected to receive strong resistance from the NEC if it is raised at Wednesday’s meeting.
Magashule was elected secretary-general a few weeks after his re-election as ANC provincial chairman was overturned by a court. His move to Luthuli House was celebrated by his rivals in the Free State who want his former deputy, Thabo Manyoni, to be premier.
The province will need to reconvene its provincial conference to elect new leaders.
A former provincial executive committee member suggested that Magashule could face a legal challenge if he insisted on occupying both positions.
He said the constitution prevented a member of a provincial executive or legislature taking other paid positions.
“The moment you get [another paid position in the party] you cease to be a member of the legislature or exco. He might find himself being challenged constitutionally,” said the PEC member.
There is currently no PEC in the Free State after it was nullified by the high court last month.
This means the new NEC will have to appoint an interim structure to run party affairs in the province. The NEC might also need to decide who becomes the next premier.
Manyoni, who was defeated by Magashule in the nullified December election, has emerged as the frontrunner for the job.
Health MEC Butana Komphela has also been mentioned as a contender.
Reports suggests Magashule’s election as secretary-general could also be challenged in the courts following the exclusion of some votes at the ANC elective conference last month.
Magashule beat former KwaZulu-Natal premier Senzo Mchunu by 24 votes for secretary-general. The matter is also expected to be discussed on Wednesday.