Difficult five years ahead for ANC rogue elements as conference affirms step-aside rule

The ANC’s 55th national conference has resolved to keep the controversial step-aside rule that has caused severe divisions in the party.

This while the drubbing of those opposed to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership continued as the second leg of the conference came to a close in the wee hours of Friday in Mangaung, Bloemfontein.

Ramaphosa has emerged as the biggest winner after the conference, thumping his opponents by clinching a second term and further packing the highest decision-making body between conference, the national executive committee (NEC), with his allies.

With the affirmation of the step-aside rule, Ramaphosa will continue to deal with rogue elements for the next five years.

The rule not only demands that those criminally charged vacate their positions in the party and government but also bars them from contesting leadership positions.

The biggest casualty of the rule in the 2017-2022 term has been former secretary-general Ace Magashule, whose political career looks doomed as he appears nowhere in the leadership structures.

Rapporteur on organisational renewal Fasiha Hassan said the conference understood complaints from those who argue the rule is against the principle of natural justice, but said a different standard must be expected from ANC leaders as the governing party.

“We cannot, as a governing party, ask for the trust of our people while deploying people charged with serious crimes, and ultimately the conference has urged the NEC to ensure the regulations be implemented uniformly, impartially, consistently, fairly and not be used to fight factional battles.

“The intention behind the step-aside resolution is to rebuild trust. It's not to replicate the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), it's not to replace the criminal justice system. It's to say we, as an organisation, acknowledge there are issues we feel internally we need to be dealing with it. Why? Because we are leaders of society.”

Cases of those affected by the rule will be reviewed after six months to check whether the NPA has made progress, the conference decided.

This was not to put pressure on the NPA as the party acknowledges its independence, but to ensure fairness in the ANC’s internal processes, Hassan said.

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