ANC Women's League ditches suspended Ace Magashule

08 May 2021 - 11:50 By aphiwe deklerk
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Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule
Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule
Image: Alaister Russell/File

The ANC Women’s League distanced itself from suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule at the weekend while his future is hanging by a thread.

Magashule was this week suspended by the party for failing to step aside after the 30-day period he was given by the ANC. 

During this time, Magashule consulted senior ANC leaders over whether to step aside while he deals with his criminal charges relating to the Free State asbestos tender.

In an interview with the SABC on Friday, Magashule hinted that he had the support of the ANCWL, singling out its secretary-general Meokgo Matuba as having voiced the league’s support for him.

But in a statement on Saturday morning, the party distanced itself from Magashule.

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“The ANCWL will not support any individual leader of the ANC but stands to reaffirm the entire collective leadership of the ANC and our confidence in them to deliver a better life for all especially women and other marginalised groupings.

“The ANCWL chooses the ANC above all divisions in the movement. We refuse to be drawn in the differences of ANC men who don’t care about the future of the liberation movement,” the league said.

It said it was worried about the public conduct of Magashule.

“With the suspension imposed on him, we appeal to him as women to consider humbling himself while organisational processes unfold. 

“We know that it is difficult but we plead with him to rise above and not conduct himself in ways that further weaken the already struggling ANC. We are further worried that he mentioned the name of our secretary-general Cde Meokgo Matuba in one of his interviews,” reads the statement. 

The league said it would remain unshaken in its fight to protect the soul of the ANC and it was confident that those who choose the ANC will stand with the ANCWL. 

“Our agenda must not be set by counter revolutionaries and reactionaries. We call on the ANC to implement resolutions of Nasrec in their totality and all other past conferences. We demand a holistic approach in dealing with all matters especially those that are a source of divisions. 

“We must also perform impact assessment on the decisions of the ANC to close ranks. We encourage structures of the ANC to discuss all issues threatening the life of the ANC and weakening its fighting capacity in the upcoming NGC, this includes the 10-point step-aside resolution,” reads the statement.

TimesLIVE


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