Shilowa ready for new party?
2008-10-15 10:20
Johannesburg - Former Gauteng province premier Mbhazima
Shilowa signalled on Wednesday he was ready to join a breakaway party expected to be formed by disgruntled
ex-members of the African National Congress.
The comments by Shilowa came two days after the ANC said it was suspending former defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota for threatening to form a breakaway group to challenge the party.
As one-time premier of South Africa's most important
province, the country's financial and industrial heartland and
home to the capital Pretoria, Shilowa could add weight to the
dissidents led by Lekota.
The ANC said he had tendered his resignation from the party.
Shilowa declined to comment on whether he had resigned in a
radio interview.
A breakaway group would mark the biggest split for 50 years in the once monolithic ANC and fuel political uncertainty in the
continent's biggest economy.
Disgruntled former ANC members
Shilowa resigned as Gauteng premier to protest the ANC's
removal of President Thabo Mbeki. Married to one of South
Africa's top businesswomen, Wendy Luhabe, Shilowa was a
favourite of business leaders while he was premier of Gauteng.
Shilowa will hold a news conference on Wednesday when he is expected to announce his resignation from the ANC. He said he
would give details of a congress of disgruntled former ANC
members.
"I will be in a position to indicate both politically what my views are. But more so will spend a little bit more time giving content to what the convention should look at when it
goes ahead," he told South Africa's Talk Radio 702.
ANC leader Jacob Zuma warned on Tuesday that the party would crack down on dissent.
Mbeki was forced out and replaced by Kgalema Motlanthe after a judge accused him of meddling in a corruption case against
Zuma.
Motlanthe will likely step down after next year's elections and Zuma is expected to take over as president.
Although the ANC is facing the worst crisis in its history,
foreign investors are mostly concerned with how the new
leadership will manage the economy.
Rebellion
Investors are worried that Zuma and Motlanthe, strongly
backed by the Communist party and powerful trade unions, may
tilt South Africa to the left.
Motlanthe has vowed to stick to Mbeki's pro-business
policies and sought to reassure investors by reappointing the
popular and respected Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel.
It is not clear how much support former ANC chairman Lekota has, although he has said hundreds of local party supporters
have resigned and regional and provincial ANC branches are
contemplating leaving the party.
Zuma said the rebellion led by Lekota threatened to
undermine the party's efforts to shield South Africans from the
global financial crisis and improve services.
(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Giles Elgood)