There are no free agents in the ANC, and those who don’t want to follow its instructions must form their own party.
This is according to ANC Youth League president Collen Malatji, who has told TimesLIVE Premium that the ANC must charge and suspend its MPs who continue to defy party directives.
His comments come after the Sunday Times, this weekend, reported that party veteran Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former health minister Zweli Mkhize, former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo and former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane are expected to appear before ANC’s national disciplinary committee (NDC) on several counts of repeatedly defying the party line in parliament.
The decision to charge the four MPs was confirmed by ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri.
They are expected to explain why they voted in December last year for the adoption of the section 89 report recommending an impeachment process for President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal, when the party had instructed its MPs to vote against it.
They are being charged as repeat offenders because this year they again defied the party in a vote on the creation of an ad hoc committee to look into the Phala Phala saga.
More charges are expected to be brought against Dlamini-Zuma after she failed to show up in the National Assembly for the vote last week to impeach Mkhwebane.
We are saying the ANC must immediately charge them, those that don’t follow the party line because they are deployed in parliament by the ANC. They are not there as independents.
— Collen Malatji, ANC Youth League president
Malatji said if the four MPs did not agree with the ANC decisions and felt they could not follow its directives, they should leave and form their own organisations.
“They are bringing the organisation into disrepute; you are not following the party line. If you go to any opposition everywhere, there is no political party that will keep people that don’t follow its party line. So I’m saying, why do people think they can do that in the ANC?” said Malatji.
“Those who don’t want to follow the ANC party line must form their own parties, they must follow those who are forming their parties and go with them, those who want to be in the ANC must follow what the ANC is saying.”
Malatji said any party that does not deal with this sort of ill-discipline runs the risk of collapsing and that ANC MPs are in parliament on a party ticket.
“We are saying the ANC must immediately charge them, those that don’t follow the party line because they are deployed in parliament by the ANC. They are not there as independents,” said Malatji.
“Whether you are happy with the decision of the ANC or not, if you are not happy then you must resign from parliament, but when you are in parliament you are there to implement decisions of the party because people vote for the ANC to deploy people in parliament.”
According to Malatji the youth league was of the view that the ANC was taking too long to deal with MPs’ ill-discipline.
He said the league believes that the four should have been charged and suspended.
“The ANC is slow to act on them, we don’t know why, but we have a strong view that those who are ill-disciplined must immediately be charged and suspended from the ANC,” he said.
Bhengu-Motsiri confirmed the four members have been referred to the NDC.
She said: “The ANC is seized with the matter. Chief whip [Pemmy Majodina] has submitted the report to the SG, and the SG will process it in terms of existing organisational processes.
“The ANC will always discourage all our members from not complying with set rules of conduct and organisational decisions wherever they are deployed.”
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