The National Executive Committee of the ANC has decided to wait another month before considering action against its corruption-implicated Secretary General, Ace Magashule.
The NEC received a report on the implementation of the ‘step-aside’ provisions – that those accused of malfeasance should stand down from positions in the ANC – which stemmed from a resolution at its 2017 conference.
Magashule is facing serious charges relating to alleged corrupt collusion in a project to replace asbestos roofs in the province. Whether or not he will step aside is seen as a test of the ANC’s putative policy. In December, the party’s integrity commission recommended that Magashule should step aside.
The report – compiled by a team led by Mathews Phosa and Kgalema Motlanthe – pointed out that legal processes can take years to be resolved. This can prejudice the constitutional rights of the accused. Implementing the resolution should therefore be done ‘rationally’.
In his closing remarks, President Ramaphosa said: ‘Our implementation of the Integrity Commission’s recommendations must be principled and uniform. We established the Integrity Commission, agreed to their Terms of Reference and we must ensure that our engagement with their recommendations take place within the adopted Terms of Reference. Now that we have adopted the guidelines, the Officials will process all the reports of the Integrity Commission that have been placed before the NEC with a view to returning to the NEC with a full report within one month. In the meantime, the NEC calls on affected members to act in the interest of protecting and enhancing the integrity and credibility of the organisation and step aside voluntarily in line with the recommendations of the Integrity Commission and the Conference Resolution.’
It seems unlikely that Magashule will be ejected from his position in the immediate future. Sources quoted in the media indicated that he and his allies would not have consented to this, and that President Ramaphosa’s strategy is to allow the guidelines to become accepted and thus create a solid case for Magashule’s removal.
The sources said that the party’s senior leadership – its so-called Top Six – should discuss and formulate ‘guidelines’ governing ‘step-asides’ for those implicated in malfeasance.
[Picture: ITU Pictures from Geneva, Switzerland, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74686261]