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ANC warns Mbeki - report
20/01/2008 10:05 - (SA)
Johannesburg - The ANC has laid down the law to President Thabo Mbeki following two days of discussions between its National Executive Committee (NEC) and the cabinet, the Sunday Times reported.
Behind the scenes, the ANC was moving to get Mbeki to appoint party deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe as a second deputy president in government, the newspaper said.
"The move would give the ANC direct access to state power and ease differences between the government and ruling party."
At the NEC lekgotla, the first attended by Mbeki since he and most of his ministers were removed from the leadership of the ANC in December last year, it was made clear to him that he must regularly attend NEC meetings to account for how the government is implementing ANC policy, the Sunday Times said.
"If he is failing to honour that obligation, we have no choice but to dismiss him," one NEC member reportedly said.
The NEC was also planning to deploy cabinet ministers to 20 ANC subcommittees dealing with various policies, the newspaper reported.
It was also made clear to SA's president that the investigations unit of the National Prosecuting Authority, the Scorpions, must be incorporated into the police by June.
'The presidency is very important...'
It was also put to Mbeki that the court system must be restructured before he leaves office. One of the main aims is to make the Constitutional Court the final court of appeal on all matters, the report said.
NEC members said Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla would have to table the Superior Courts Bill urgently - it was withdrawn from Parliament at the request of Mbeki pending consultation with judges.
During the lekgotla, which started on Friday, several NEC members said they would like Motlanthe to be elevated to the deputy presidency.
The plan has the backing of supporters of both Mbeki and Zuma, the Sunday Times said.
An NEC member explained that Mbeki's presidency would have to be restructured to ensure that the top six leaders of the ANC were represented in the executive of the country.
"At the moment the top six are only represented at the leadership of Parliament. (ANC national chairperson Baleka Mbete is National Assembly speaker.) We want (the top six) to also be reflected in the presidency."
"The presidency is very important because Mbeki has made it very powerful. If you appoint (Motlanthe) as the country's deputy president, then he can prevail and create a balance."
A better option
Motlanthe has previously played down the possibility that he could be deployed in government but ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe had said that the party would appoint his predecessor to a role where it could extract value from his experience.
Mbeki's supporters are hoping that Motlanthe's elevation to the deputy presidency could put him in a good position to succeed Mbeki as president of SA, the report said.
"They view him as a better option than Zuma, who may fall out of the race if he is found guilty of corruption."
However, a Zuma supporter in the NEC told the Sunday Times: "Such a move (Motlanthe's pending appointment) does not threaten us at all. The Limpopo conference made it clear that we would like Motlanthe to be the deputy of the party." "But one thing must be clear: there are no ifs and buts about Zuma being Mbeki's successor as the country's president."
On Saturday Mbeki led a delegation from his cabinet to the NEC lekgotla, where they delivered reports on the government's progress in improving the living standards of South Africans.
He had skipped Zuma's inaugural ANC policy address. He had also skipped the NEC meeting where the new ANC National Working Committee - which oversees the day-to-day running of the organisation - was elected.
The NEC meeting ends on Sunday.
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