Zukile Majova
President Cyril Ramaphosa emerged from the ANC national policy conference stronger and in complete control of the ANC.
His clear endorsement by eight of nine provinces and the rejection of a proposal to scrap the step aside rule has paved the way for Ramaphosa to get a second term at the party’s elective conference in December.
The three-day gathering of 1,600 delegates dealt a big blow to former president Jacob Zuma’s faction, which is actively lobbying for the removal of Ramaphosa.
The faction known as the Radical Economic Transformation (RET) forces had created an impression that its anti-Ramaphosa stance had the support of other provinces.
Leaders of the RET forces, including suspended ANC secretary general Ace Magashule and former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, have been charged with fraud and corruption and subsequently instructed to step down from their positions.
David Mahlobo, who chairs the ANC’s sub-committee on peace and stability, said the decision to introduce the step aside rule was meant to deal with morality.
“Those that are already indicted by the court of law must step aside,” he said. “Those that are implicated without actually being indicted must appear before the integrity commission.”
In his closing address to the conference Ramaphosa announced even more initiatives to fight corruption.
“The procurement system should by law be more open, more transparent, building on the initiative for greater public access to all tender information,” he said.
“This conference has demonstrated more clearly that more than ever before our common commitment to rid our organisation of factionalism, corruption and to renew and to rebuild our organisation is quite an urgent mission.”
Ramaphosa, who inherited an organisation that is riddled with corruption and whose senior leaders looted government departments and state-owned enterprises, said efforts to rebuild the ANC were unstoppable.
Delegates closed the conference with a new rendition coined by the ANC in the Eastern Cape called “Phakama Ramaphosa, ixesha lifikile” (Rise up Ramaphosa, the time has come).
It’s a huge turn of fortunes for the president after he was booed by delegates at the ANC KZN conference singing the infamous “Wenzeni uZuma” song.
Image source:@myanc
