It is the last roll of the dice for a group of ANC members hell-bent on hijacking the ANC and pulling the country from its economic recovery path back to state capture.
It is a group that seeks to undermine the ongoing fight against corruption in the public sector and once again ransack the coffers of the state.
For the past five years, this faction of the ANC has insulted judges, including Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, and sought to discredit the state capture commission.
The so-called Radical Economic Transformation (RET) faction is leading the call for President Cyril Ramaphosa to be recalled from office or be forced to step down.
Its campaign has been underway since Ramaphosa defeated Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in the 2017 ANC conference; his victory slammed the brakes on unprecedented looting of public funds.
Long before it was revealed that about $580,000 stashed in a sofa at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala Farm was stolen in a robbery in 2020, the RET forces were calling for the president’s head.
Ramaphosa’s first attempt at reforming the ANC stung one of the ringleaders of this grouping, party secretary Ace Magashule, who was allegedly implicated in a R250 million scandal in the Free State and forced to step aside while he moved to clear his name through the courts.
The so-called step-aside resolution forced various others out of their positions and many more named in the state capture report could face the same fate if charged in the coming months.
Ramaphosa’s crusade against the theft of public money by his comrades has gathered steam, with over 1,000 new prosecutors appointed to beef up capacity in the National Prosecuting Authority.
For those named in volumes of evidence now in the hands of the Hawks and the NPA, the 55th conference of the ANC presents the perfect opportunity to get rid of Ramaphosa and his anti-corruption crusade.
In his address to the Progressive Business Forum gala dinner on Thursday night, Ramaphosa vowed once again to continue fighting corruption in his government.
In this conference the RET forces are led by disgraced former health minister Zweli Mkhize, who was pushed out of government after allegedly being implicated in the R150 million Digital Vibes Communication scandal.
The elective conference set for 16 to 20 December is expected to get heated on Friday night, when the 4,500 delegates are allowed to make additional nominations for the position of president, deputy president, national chairperson, general secretary, deputy secretary and treasurer-general.
Pictured above: ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa
Image source: @MyANC
