Some economists say investors see the suspension of African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General, Ace Magashule, as a sign that party President Cyril Ramaphosa is finally beginning to tighten his grip on the governing party.
However, economist Adrian Saville says Ramaphosa must move far more quickly on reforms before they can turn bullish on the growth prospects of the country’s economy.
Ramaphosa felt confident enough last week to move against Magashule, who has been charged with corruption, fraud and money laundering.
Magashule has approached the courts over the constitutionality of the step-aside resolution, which led to his suspension.
Discussion on Magashule’s decision to take ANC to court:
Meanwhile, political analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga says Magashule is merely buying himself time during which he thinks he can appeal to ANC branches.
“The ANC is losing control of the whole thing. The ANC is no longer just an implementer, it has to respond to the way in which this policy has been formulated. He’s [Magashule] in between. He is just buying time and is playing politics in the party.”
“It’s all about escalating this thing to the branches. He seems to believe that the branches of the ANC will have a different view from the NEC,” explains Mathekga.
The ANC says it will communicate a way forward on the Magashule matter on Monday.
‘Further action likely’
Earlier, another political analyst Raobaka Kalaote said the ANC was likely to take further action against Magashule.
“In as much as this can play out in a court of law, it does not say the ANC has no stand to do anything about Magashule. His suspension is still in place. There’s nothing precluding the ANC from instituting disciplinary action against him.”
“So in this instance, let’s just hope we have a National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress that is confident enough [and that] will not back down from what is expected to be done, guided by its own constitution,” explains Kalaote.
Below is the full interview with Political analyst Raobaka Kalaote:
