Jackson is pushing for Ramaphosa faction‚ says analyst

The statement by ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu that President Jacob Zuma must go after the December elective conference represents the view of one of the factions in the ANC which is pushing for Cyril Ramaphosa to be the next leader of the party.

This is the reaction of political analyst Dumisani Hlophe who said the context within which Mthembu made this call was totally different to what happened when he protected Zuma against a motion of no confidence in Parliament.

“With the vote of no confidence in Parliament‚ [that motion] was initiated by the opposition. That matters. If they [ANC] had gone ahead and removed President Zuma based on the initiative of the opposition‚ it would have meant that the ANC in its totality has abdicated its responsibility to provide leadership.

“It would have meant that its internal processes of holding its own leadership accountable‚ would have failed to the extent that it needed to rely on opposition…It would not have been strategic. So he [Mthembu] had to defend the position of the ANC. That was a positional matter‚ whether he likes the guy [Zuma] or not.

“This time around‚ it is a leadership contestation which is entirely within the ANC. It has been initiated within the ANC through ANC processes‚ governed by the ANC constitution‚ rules and regulations and to be decided wholesomely by the ANC‚” said Hlophe.

Reuters reported that Mthembu said that whoever the party chooses next month‚ the incoming leadership should tell Zuma to go to allow the ANC to clean up its act.

"You can't keep him there‚" he said.

Mthembu said the ANC could learn from what was happening in Zimbabwe‚ where the ruling ZANU-PF party is pushing for President Robert Mugabe to leave his post.

"In Zimbabwe they call that bloodless corrections... We need to make the corrections immediately after the conference. How do you effect those corrections in government when the same person who might have contributed to a better degree still sits?" Mthembu asked.

Hlophe said Mthembu’s views were within the context of leadership contestation within the ruling party.

“He does not speak as the chief whip. But we can’t ignore the fact that he is a chief whip. It gives his comment more weight and yet he is not speaking as a chief whip of the ANC. He is part of a faction. What he is saying represents a faction which is pushing for Ramaphosa…He is part of a Ramaphosa campaign. What he says is reflective of faction that is pushing for Ramaphosa and all those who are in that slate‚” Hlophe concluded.