Publication: Sunday Times Issued: Date: 2005-11-13 Reporter: Ndivhuho Mafela Reporter: Moipone Malefane

Motlanthe to Draft Damage-Control Plan

 

Publication 

Sunday Times

Date

2005-11-13

Reporter

 Ndivhuho Mafela, Moipone Malefane

Web Link

www.sundaytimes.co.za

 

If Zuma had accepted the proposal, it would have curtailed his freedom to mobilise support ahead of his corruption trial in July

ANC Secretary-General Kgalema Motlanthe is drafting a compromise proposal to put before party leaders next weekend to manage the rift between President Thabo Mbeki and his ANC deputy, Jacob Zuma.

This is after the two leaders failed to agree on how to manage the crisis precipitated by Mbeki’s dismissal of Zuma from Cabinet.

The two were instructed by the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) at a meeting in September, and again by the smaller National Working Committee (NWC) last month, to come up with a damage-control plan.

ANC insiders said Zuma last Monday rejected the joint declaration put forward by Mbeki, following at least three face-to-face meetings on how to contain the consequences of their fallout.

A senior ANC member told the Sunday Times that if Zuma had accepted the proposal, it would have curtailed his freedom to mobilise support ahead of his trial on corruption charges in July.

Now Motlanthe has been asked to pull their ideas together into a proposal that will be considered at a special two-day NEC meeting starting on Saturday.

Some ANC officials said this week the NEC might withdraw the mandate to Mbeki and Zuma to manage the row without further damage to the party, which is reeling from the worst internal dispute since its return from exile in 1990.

The clash reached a crisis last Monday when Mbeki and Zuma attended a meeting of the 25-member NWC without the agreed proposal they had been asked to present.

The two leaders were sharply criticised at the September NEC meeting for failing to give leadership on the issue.

They accepted the censure and released a statement which was distributed to all provincial offices and regions.

The statement read, in part: “It is critical that the leadership should rise above the fray and find mature ways of dealing with the challenges. The danger is that, incorrectly handled, the situation can worsen, further dividing and weakening the movement and the forces of fundamental change.”

They promised to meet and discuss how best the matter could be resolved.

Since then, however, Zuma has crisscrossed the country drumming up support, his supporters have rallied to his cause, sometimes slating Mbeki and burning T-shirts with his image on them, and Mbeki has gone on an offensive against greed and corruption within the ruling party.

ANC spokesman Smuts Ngonyama confirmed that Mbeki and Zuma had met, but had not completed their proposal for the special NEC meeting on Saturday.

It is understood that Zuma presented his views to Mbeki about the anger vented by some in the party’s rank and file since his dismissal from Cabinet and his subsequent prosecution for corruption.

Mbeki promised to draft a joint proposal, but managed to give it to Zuma only eight hours before the NWC meeting on October 31.

NWC insiders said Zuma had become angry when the document authored by Mbeki was presented as their joint proposal to the meeting.

Zuma distanced himself from the document, arguing that it did not reflect his position and views.

Ngonyama confirmed that the document had been submitted and discussed at the NWC meeting.

Another senior ANC member said some NWC members had accused Zuma of not being careful when addressing his supporters.

They wanted clarity on whether the support he was mobilising was specifically related to his prosecution or whether he was lobbying to become the next president of the ANC.

Another official blamed NEC members for abdicating responsibility by giving Zuma and Mbeki the task of finding a solution when they knew there was tension between the two leaders.

As a result of the deadlock, the NWC asked Motlanthe to ensure that a final report towards the resolution of the rift was drafted and tabled at the upcoming special NEC meeting.

With acknowledgements to Ndivhuho Mafela, Moipone Malefane and Sunday Times.