Another weekend, another round of ugly internal division over at the ANC.

The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting kicked off this weekend, and it was all action right from the get-go. According to insiders, President Cyril Ramaphosa is said to have dared his rivals within the ANC to try removing him at the National General Council (NGC) next year.

The Daily Maverick reports that he told his most vocal critics to “be my guest” when it comes to ousting him next year, so he must feel pretty confident that he has the support of enough players within the party.

This unravelling of any illusion of unity shows just how in turmoil the ruling party really is, although it looks like Ramaphosa may be winning the power struggle:

On Sunday reports emerged about what had happened in the ANC’s national executive meeting, with suggestions from the Sunday Times that Magashule had been “gagged” from delivering the traditional pre-NEC meeting briefing. It also claimed this decision had been taken by the top six national leaders…

The importance of this lies in how the balance of power in the top six of the ANC can be assessed. It has often been assumed that Ramaphosa and ANC chair Gwede Mantashe [with Ramaphosa below] generally move as one, that Deputy President David Mabuza and Treasurer Paul Mashatile work as a team, and that Magashule walks with deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte (this can change depending on the issue).

…in politics it is difficult for a group of people who are seen as unpopular to remove from power a person who is seen as popular. This means that Magashule and those around him are still pushing against political gravity. And it appears that this will remain the case for some time.

Magashule was always going to make his biggest power play at next year’s midterm National General Council (NGC), but if Ramaphosa can consolidate his position and garner enough support before that meeting, perhaps he can squash the challenge before it’s even begun.

Much of the talk this week revolved around attacks against NEC member Derek Hanekom, with claims that he worked with other parties to oust Jacob Zuma back in 2o17.

You can read an in-depth look at the Hanekom saga here.

Given that the ANC itself spoke about garnering the support of the EFF in 2018, when they finally rid themselves of Zuma, it shouldn’t be as big an issue as it has become, but Magashule is clearly keen to deflect attention away from the Zondo Commission.

Once more, damning evidence about Magashule’s involvement in looting and plundering the Free State coffers in the Estina Dairy Farm scandal came to light, and once more, nothing will come of it.

Still, the open warfare over the weekend might be the sign of an upcoming explosive showdown:

All of this feeds into the perception that the ANC is fighting too many internal battles to govern effectively and that the camps are too obsessed with internal power. However, the incendiary tone of Magashule’s Hanekom statement and Ramaphosa’s attitude in saying “be my guest” may well suggest that tempers are about to boil.

A real-life Game of Thrones, but pretty much every actor is a crook and there’s a dearth of great special effects to keep things really intriguing.

We await the next stabbing in the back.

[source:dailymaverick]