There’s always that one person in an email thread who doesn’t understand the difference between ‘Reply’ and ‘Reply All’.

You’re an idiot, Dave, and we are all judging you for it.

On the scale of one to ANC that’s still in the minor leagues, though, because someone over at the ruling party had an absolute shocker.

Read this carefully – they accidentally “sent notes about its national working committee meeting to its media mailing list on Tuesday night”.

That is to say, they emailed an internal memo about what went on during the ANC’s National Working Committee meeting on Tuesday night to every journalist on their mailing list.

Sadly, what that error revealed makes us rather bleak. More from News24:

• Change of leadership and attendant issues
• How do we deal with some of our comrades becoming part of a force united against us
• Prevailing contradictions. SA problem is a class struggle. Removal of the President will not resolve such contradictions
• Mobilising by Cde Pravin
• Irreparable breakdown of the relationship between the President and Former Finance Minister
• Officials managing NWC, defence of the ANC where National Office fails, Officials apologies for display of disunity, using Constitution where it suits them, explain your ill discipline
• Cde Kathrada Funeral – manner in which some NEC members and Ministers behaved
• Cannot just malign view that we differ with, must be entertained in a credible structure of the organisation
• Reshuffle triggered resurgence of dead movement #ZumaMustFall
• Firm belief  that they can remove President Zuma
• Mobilised within the state, works with opposition, disgruntled ANC members
• Character assassinations in traditional and new media

Sure doesn’t look like the type of meeting that’s leading to the dumping of Number One.

The Mail & Guardian with further insight:

President Jacob Zuma has once again emerged victorious after the party’s extended national working committee on Tuesday rejected the ANC’s Integrity Commission’s recommendation for him to step down.

You read right, the ANC has an Integrity Commission. All the LOLs.

Instead, ANC insiders say, his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe and treasurer general Zweli Mkhizi were forced to apologise to the president for criticising him in public after his decision to remove finance minister Pravin Gordhan, his deputy Mcebisi Jonas and several other cabinet ministers and deputy ministers.

Forced to apologise to Jacob Zuma – it appears Ramaphosa and the other ANC bigwigs have turfed the idea of having a backbone.

Initially, the three top six officials had publicly distanced themselves to Zuma’s decision to reshuffle his cabinet, saying he did not consult but merely informed them about the executive changes.

It is understood, however, that during the meeting, ANC chairperson Baleka Mbete contradicted Ramaphosa, Mantashe and Mkhize, when she told senior party leaders attending the NWC that president Zuma did consult the officials but the three differed with his decision. The ANC is expected to address the media on the outcome of the NWC meeting on Wednesday morning.

That press briefing will take place at 11AM today and, according to the Daily Maverick’s morning mailer, “will be possibly the most important press briefing of the organisation’s post-apartheid history”.

I’m pretty sure a live stream will pop up somewhere so we’ll bring that to you. That way we can all suffer through the ANC defending Zuma once more.

Some examples of the ANC rallying around the president from TimesLive, in what they’ve dubbed ‘Operation Save JZ’;

Water Affairs and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane told supporters…”The West can’t dictate to us. The rand falls. It fell in apartheid [times] and we will pick it up again now,” she said.

“Investors are like window-shoppers. It’s still the ANC in power. The problems you see now are not a reflection of an unstable ANC.

“These junk ratings have nothing to do with financial ratings – it’s political ratings”…

The chairman of the ANC Youth League in Gauteng, Matome Chiloane, told the rally: “Zuma has demonstrated his interest in ensuring that the economy is successful.”

He said those who spoke out against Zuma had shown that they were “security guards of white monopoly capital”.

Ah yes, there’s that ‘white monopoly capital’ we spoke about yesterday as a tool to distract from Zuma and the Guptas (HERE).

For what it’s worth, the ANC has distanced itself from that accidental email fiasco, with this from News24 again:

Shortly afterwards, ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa issued a statement saying it was sent out in error.

“The African National Congress has noted erroneous communication send to the ANC Media List from ANC Communications,” the statement read.

“This communication was sent out in error, is not an official statement of the ANC neither does it represent the views of the ANC. It should thus not be used for the purposes of reporting.”

Imagine believing the ANC spokesperson on anything these days.

Kick up a real stink on Friday by all means, if it makes you feel better, and the ruling party deserves to see just how fed up the citizens of South Africa are.

Just know that we’re all fighting a losing battle, as long as those within the ANC themselves continue to put their interests ahead of those of the people.

[sources:news24&mg&timeslive]