The unity of the ANC will be under the spotlight as former President Jacob Zuma refuses to co-operate with the State Capture Commission and a resolution that those charged with corruption step aside remains in limbo.
Today sees the National Working Committee (NWC) meeting ahead of a two-day National Executive Meeting kicking off on Saturday. Also on the NEC agenda will be the management by government of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tensions have been rising amongst the formations of the ANC with regards to Zuma’s refusal to co-operate with the State Capture Commission. His decision has so far been supported by the Mkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) and opposed by the ANC Veterans League. It is in defiance of an NEC resolution that members support the Commission. KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Secretary, Mdumiseni Ntuli, has called for intervention by the party’s leadership.
“We must not really rush to call for DC and all of those things lets rather appeal to the national officials to rise to the occasion engage with the former president and seek to persuade him to understand that he may have the courage and bravery to serve another term of imprisonment but that must not happen at the expense of the movement,” Ntuli has said.
Another matter that is expected to be aired is how to take forward the NEC’s resolution that members who are formally charged in a court of law should step aside. Secretary General, Ace Magashule, is due in court on the 19th of this month on charges of fraud and corruption related to a 2014 Asbestos project in the Free State, but remains firmly in his position.
Mabe explains the status quo: “It’s an issue that the ANC has long agreed on and the NEC had agreed that first there was that process of the officials engaging with various legal opinions on that specific matter and there was feedback that the different lawyers who were engaged gave to the NEC. The NEC has already reflected on that and had further agreed and that the officials must that given that must then deal with the framework come back and report to the NWC and ultimately the NEC.”
Focus on COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic and its handling will also come under scrutiny. Focus on the pandemic this weekend follows the controversy sparked by the recent procurement of the AstraZeneca vaccine by government, which has been found to have limited efficacy against the N501Y variant and expires in April.
“We have got to understand the various measures that are being undertaken by our government through the National Coronavirus Command Council the rollout of vaccination how they are prioritising and moving with that the President has been able to give some detail as the head of government in the State of the Nation Address obviously we have a standing item on our agenda. We need to be getting an update from those of our cadres who are deployed and fortunately both Minister Zweli Mkhize and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma are part of the NEC of the ANC,” says Mabe.
The economic recovery of the country will also take centre stage given the loss of 1.7 million jobs in the first nine months of last year and unemployment rate of nearly 31% as outlined by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address. The meeting will also get a briefing on preparations towards the local elections scheduled for later this year.
In the video below, Pule Mabe briefs the media ahead of this weekend’s meeting:
