Motlanthe most tantalising talking point
2012-12-20 22:00
Johannesburg - As the ANC national conference in Mangaung
ended on Thursday, deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe's withdrawal from party
leadership posts remained the most tantalising talking point.
While Jacob Zuma was re-elected to the party's top
position, ousted youth league leader Julius Malema - who had once promised to
kill and/or die for Zuma - had his expulsion seemingly sealed.
ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said a request by
Malema and two of his dethroned colleagues for their positions back, would not
be entertained. The matter was "exhausted and finished", Mantashe
said.
Motlanthe went up against and lost to Zuma for the role
of party president.
Motlanthe also withdrew his nomination for deputy party
president.
The position went to billionaire businessman and one of
the original writers of the country's Constitution, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Holding up a peace sign in a photograph taken shortly
after his defeat, Motlanthe later delivered a speech in which he termed the ANC
"the epitome of democracy".
Motlanthe's future intentions baffled many when a short
while after, he also declined nomination for any of the NEC's 80 positions.
ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said Motlanthe laughed
off the suggestion that he would step down as the country's deputy president.
"I spoke to the deputy president. He just laughed
and said: 'Where do they get these horror stories?'"
Not only will Motlanthe remain as the country's deputy president, he has been earmarked to lead
the party's political education programme.
During his closing address on Thursday, President Jacob Zuma the leader of the political school had to be a "seasoned cadre of the movement" who knew about the African National Congress.
"We
discussed this with deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and former deputy
Kgalema Motlanthe," Zuma said in his closing address at the ANC's 53rd
national elective conference.
"We thank the former deputy president for availing himself for this critical task," he said to cheers from delegates.
The
announcement drew huge cheers and applause from delegates and is
somewhat of an olive branch from , NewsFire's Ranjeni Munusamy reported.
Zuma
said political education would be taken very seriously by the
newly-elected leadership and he would start working on this with his new
deputy in the party Cyril Ramaphosa.
Motlanthe would however head the new political education programme.
Top six
The success of slate voting seemed evident when the rest
of the top six NEC positions were won by candidates closely aligned with Zuma.
Mantashe and Baleka Mbethe were re-elected to their
positions as secretary general and chairperson respectively.
Ramaphosa, along with Jessie Duarte as deputy
secretary-general and Zweli Mkhize as treasurer-general, were the new faces at
the top six table.
On Thursday, Ramaphosa said he had called for a review of
his business dealings. He has his own company, Shanduka Holdings, and is
chairperson of the Bidvest Group and MTN, as well as the owner of the South
African franchise of McDonalds.
"This is necessary to address any potential
conflicts of interest, and to ensure that I can adequately perform the
responsibilities of this position," he said.
Besides Motlanthe, several other prominent ANC members
declined nomination for the NEC.
Others who said no included presidential spokesperson Mac
Maharaj, Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel, struggle stalwart Jay Naidoo
and Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
A total of 295 nominees were put through for voting, and the Zuma camp made a clean sweep of the National Executive
Committee positions, while prominent leaders aligned opposed
to Zuma's re-election did not make the cut.
Among those excluded were Fikile Mbalula, Tokyo Sexwale, Mathews Phosa and Paul Mashatile.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was named top of the list followed by Malusi Gigaba and Lindiwe Sisulu.
The
list is dominated by KwaZulu-Natal leaders and members of cabinet,
including securocrats in the cabinet, Nathi Mthetwhwa and Siyabonga
Cwele.
Fired national police commissioner Bheki Cele also made it onto the NEC.
The announcement of Cele and former Gauteng housing MEC Humphrey
Mmemezi's names were greeted with cheers from delegates on the last day
of the African National Congress's national elective conference.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was second last on the list.
The
new NEC also included several Cabinet ministers and AU commission chair
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, as well as ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu,
Sapa reported.
Mmemezi,
who was fired for misusing a state-issued credit card, was one of the
new members who got the loudest cheers from the delegates.
So did former ANCYL treasurer Pule Mabe, Zuma's media adviser Zizi Kodwa, and Cele.
Cabinet
ministers on the list are Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba,
Public Service Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister in the Presidency
Collins Chabane, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe, Home Affairs Minister
Naledi Pandor, Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom, Finance
Minister Pravin Gordon, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and National
Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu.
Former Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni, and former arts and culture minister Pallo Jordan were also elected.
Trade
unionists who made it to the NEC were Congress of SA Trade Unions
president Sidumo Dlamini, and Nehawu general secretary Fikile Majola.
Policy discussions
Party delegates were boisterous during the voting phase
of the conference. When not waving fans to combat the heat, they sang and
danced, praising candidates they liked and mocking those they did not.
However, everyone soon got down to business as policy
discussions got underway.
Gigaba, the ANC economic transformation policy commission head, said the conference had resolved that wholesale nationalisation was
"off the table". There would be "strategic nationalisation"
where necessary.
Fighting corruption was also raised as a key issue.
ANC constitutional affairs sub-committee chairperson
Collins Chabane said financial crimes by a party member would now feature in
disciplinary procedures and lead to automatic expulsion.
ANC Gauteng secretary David Makhura said an integrity
committee would be established in the next three months to deal with members
accused of misconduct.
"The committee will help us nip corruption in the
bud," he said.
Lighter moments
There were also lighter moments at the conference.
Opinions were divided on Twitter over whether the woman who sang the national
anthem at the conference's opening sounded like a dying goose or a goat being
slaughtered.
Zelda la Grange, former president Nelson Mandela's
personal assistant, tweeted: "This chick can't sing for shit!"
University of the Free State rector Jonathan Jansen, tweeted a request to
"bring back Cde Ras Dumisani".
Dumisani is infamous for his off-key performance of the
anthem ahead of a rugby test in 2009.
Mantashe was teased by journalists at a press briefing
about whether a storm on Wednesday afternoon might be the result of the ANC's
ancestors being upset.
"Rain is a blessing. A storm is rain in a different
form," he replied.
- SAPA