ANC Lekgotla: ANC ‘free agents’ should take a walk – Mantashe

ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe on Monday chastised his party’s Members of Parliament who say they will vote according to their consciences in the 8 August motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma. “If they had [a] conscience, they should have discovered it before they agreed to be in Parliament on an ANC list.”

The party has struggled to rein in defiant MPs who publicly declared they will ignore the ANC’s order to vote against the upcoming motion and retain Zuma as president of the country. Mantashe, speaking after the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) held its last lekgotla for 2017 over the weekend, said MPs could not act as “free agents”, nor claim to be putting the “Constitution of the land” ahead of the party.

“We are not running the land here. We are running a party and that party is called the ANC,” he said. “We are members of the ANC. We execute the mandate of the ANC. There is no two ways about it.”

The secretary-general said a comrade asked him what happens if MPs disagreed with the ANC’s position on the no confidence motion. “I said, ‘No, you’re free to take a walk.’ Because we’re not a party of free agents. Because if we are a party of free agents then there’s no party.”

National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete is yet to announce whether the no confidence vote will be open or conducted by secret ballot, after the Constitutional Court ruled that she has the discretion to decide on the method of voting, taking circumstances into consideration. Opposition parties have been frustrated that she is yet to announce her decision. Mantashe said the NEC did not discuss the upcoming vote and would not tell Mbete how the vote should be held.

Mantashe said the ANC would not consider the possibility of Zuma being voted out of office. “We move from the position of what is correct and came to the conclusion that that motion should not succeed because we are a majority in Parliament. If it does [succeed] there’s something wrong with the ANC team. Then we can deal with that if it happens.” He said the ANC should be working tirelessly to ensure the motion fails. “We’re not planning for it to succeed.”

Mantashe was speaking after ANC Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu’s office issued a scathing rebuke of the party’s Mondli Gungubele. The former Ekurhuleni mayor has said he would vote against Zuma if the president and the ANC fail to take firm action on reports of corruption. Former finance minister Pravin Gordhan, who stayed on as an ordinary MP after being removed in March, and Makhosi Khoza have said they will vote according to their consciences. Khoza faces disciplinary charges laid by the KwaZulu-Natal ANC and has received death threats for her outspoken stance.

“Comrade Gungubele has expressly defined his political programme to be that of self-promotion masquerading as political correctness at the expense of the ANC,” said Mthembu’s statement. “What is particularly unfortunate is that comrade Gungubele, who is a long-serving leader of the ANC and has been a Member of Parliament before, has decided to act in such a crude, defiant manner not in keeping with democratic centralism and collective leadership as a defining feature of the ANC.” It noted “the complete collapse of discipline among certain ANC members” and called on party structures to act against Gungubele.

Mantashe said the NEC lekgotla focused primarily on the country’s economic decline and high rates of unemployment. Its resolutions will be discussed in the Cabinet meeting this week and influence next year’s national budget. There was little, however, to offer hope. The party even recommended government establish a commission on the fourth industrial revolution “to leverage the opportunities offered by technological advancement”.

The lekgotla endorsed Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s 14-point plan – which builds on Zuma’s nine-point plan – to boost the economy. It said the 2018 Budget should focus on infrastructure development without undermining fiscal consolidation, increase support for small-scale farmers, and that there needed to be urgent measures to reduce job losses in the retail, furniture and textile industries. The ANC also wants the government to develop employment ratios between South African citizens and foreign nationals in locally owned businesses.

As the ANC wants to build economic growth and reduce unemployment, it should look straight at Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane and his cavalier approach to regulation. The party’s economic transformation sub-committee has been told to work on a strategy that looks beyond the dispute over the 2017 Mining Charter, which is being challenged by the Chamber of Mines in court, “to focus on the future of the industry in its totality”. Mantashe said there needed to be a focus on achieving long-term growth in mining, and policies should not appear punitive. After Zwane’s charter was challenged in court, he proposed placing a moratorium on all new and prospecting mining rights until the matter is resolved. That decision has also been taken to court.

Mantashe said the party was not trying to undermine Zwane but portfolios were not “a personal domain” and his decisions reflected back on the ANC. “We are not undermining Minister Zwane. We are having a responsibility to help him appreciate the fact that we should do things in a particular way that do not affect the economy negatively.”

The National Union of Mineworkers on Monday said it had received section 189 notices from AngloGold Ashanti and Bokoni Platinum Mine indicating that over 11,000 workers are likely to lose their jobs. It said Zwane’s moratorium could lead to mine closures and up to 20,000 more job losses. The Chamber of Mines on Monday said the industry lost around 70,000 jobs in the last five years and the proposed Mining Charter puts 100,000 direct jobs at risk in the short-to-medium term.

The mining industry might welcome Mantashe’s comments on the need to create conditions that facilitate business growth, but while Zwane remains minister, with his unpredictable policies and the extensive allegations that he has helped the Gupta family win lucrative contracts, it’s unlikely business confidence or investment in the sector will improve.

The NEC lekgotla statement included only two sentences on corruption. It said that the Integrated Anti-Corruption Strategy discussion paper has been launched and the Anti-Corruption Task Team has finalised its strategy and will work with Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts. Responding to criticism on the lack of focus on corruption, Mantashe said, “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s a reflection on ‘engagement fatigue’ on this area.” He called on corruption-fighting institutions to play their role. “If that is weak, I don’t know what would be strong.”

A firmer decision coming out of the lekgotla was on fee-free higher education. The ANC said students from families with an annual income below R150,000 should receive fully subsidised grants to study and those who have family incomes between R150,000 and R600,000 should be subsidised through a mix of grants, loans, and family contributions. Mantashe denied the ANC was jumping the gun before the commission of inquiry on the matter completes its work. DM

Photo: ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe holds a news conference in Johannesburg on Monday, 22 July 2013 following the weekend's lekgotla. Photo: Werner Beukes/SAPA