ANC NEC to deliberate on alliance tensions, wage bill, Eskom crisis, Phala Phala, Digital Vibes and 2024 elections

The ANC is this weekend convening a four-day national executive committee (NEC) meeting where the reconfiguration of its alliance with the SACP and Cosatu is expected to take centre stage.

This comes as the tripartite alliance partners have been raising their ire at how the ANC is leading the formation and questioning their continued participation in it.

Key among their concerns, especially Cosatu, is the lack of consultation before cabinet reshuffles.

The SACP, on the other hand, is considering contesting elections, as the alliance has been weakened structurally and functionally, which it says has led to the failure to prevent “or at least nip in the bud” things such as state capture.

Cosatu and the SACP want to reconfigure the alliance and remove the ANC as its “strategic centre”, form an alliance-based body that will decide on reshuffles and recalls as well as remove the monitoring of deployees from the Presidency and place it with the alliance, among other proposals.

The NEC will spend most of the third day discussing the reconfiguration of the alliance with SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila and the ANC’s Febe Potgieter making presentations.

According to the agenda shared with NEC members, the meeting will on its first day on Friday be addressed by Namibian President Hage Geingob in his capacity as Swapo leader. Geingob is in South Africa on a state visit.

Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and head of the subcommittee on the economy Mmamoloko Kubayi will also make a presentation on Friday on interventions to address the energy crisis. 

Ramokgopa made a presentation on his plans to end load-shedding at the national working committee (NWC) and again at the special cabinet meeting earlier this week. These include delaying the decommissioning of some coal-fired power stations nearing their end of life.

The NWC is said to have approved Ramokgopa’s plans and the special cabinet meeting referred the matter to the national energy crisis committee (Necom).

Treasurer-general Gwen Ramokgopa is also expected to give the NEC an update on the finances of the party, including the issue of the exorbitant salary bill and progress to amend the Political Party Funding Act in parliament.

Saturday is expected to deal specifically with the elections, where head of elections Mdumiseni Ntuli and first deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane will oversee a strategy workshop.

Former president Kgalema Motlanthe, who heads the ANC electoral body, will update the NEC on the list process before next year’s elections while David Makhura will report on the state of coalitions.

Secretary-general Fikile Mbalula is expected to present reports from the integrity commission, some of which have been in abeyance since before the national conference, including one on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm scandal and Zweli Mkhize’s Digital Vibes saga. 

The top officials' meeting with former president Thabo Mbeki is also expected to be discussed. The Sunday Times reported last week ANC national officials are said to have defended the party’s decision to shoot down the Phala Phala report in parliament during their meeting with Mbeki.

According to insiders with knowledge of the meeting, the six national officials who attended told Mbeki the ANC could not support a process that may have led to the impeachment of its own president.

Mbeki met the officials over a scathing letter he sent to the party’s deputy president Paul Mashatile, expressing dismay at how the ANC “protected” Ramaphosa against accountability on the scandal. Ramaphosa did not attend the meeting.

Mbeki said the ANC decision to instruct its MPs to vote against adopting the report that said Ramaphosa may have a prima facie case to answer was worrying. It suggested the party was protecting Ramaphosa “at all cost” because it knew something untoward had taken place.

Mbalula, according to insiders, told the NWC meeting on Monday in Limpopo that they defended the decision while Mbeki maintained his.

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