ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu wants the party's national leadership to act urgently against outspoken MP Makhosi Khoza following her "continued acts of ill-discipline".
Mthembu told the Sunday Times he had lost patience with Khoza's continued "defiance" of a decision by the ANC leadership that no party MP would endorse the vote of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma or be allowed to vote with their conscience.
"This matter is no longer with us as caucus, and the national leadership of the ANC must act urgently against this act of ill-discipline once and for all."
In terms of ANC processes, party MPs are generally disciplined by the parliamentary caucus disciplinary committee headed by former chief whip Mathole Motshekga, but this matter might have to be handled by the national disciplinary committee, headed by Derek Hanekom or ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe."We are not going to prescribe to the constitutional structures of the ANC; all we're saying is that we need to see action against this behaviour from comrade Khoza," said Mthembu.
Mthembu hit back at Khoza after she reacted to his statement on Friday, calling for disciplinary action against her. This was after Khoza gave media interviews at the ANC policy conference, saying she wanted a conscience vote on August 8 when the National Assembly debates the no-confidence motion.
On Friday, Khoza posted on her Facebook page that she did not accept Mthembu's characterisation of her as ill-disciplined.
"I cannot accept his condemnation, nor could I find sense in his new-found label of me as fitting an extremely ill-disciplined cadre. I think such is based on being extremely economical with truth, or denial of the fact that the ANC is being defined out of power on moral grounds and not on the strength of its policies or Makhosi Khoza's media pronouncements," she wrote.
Khoza also complained that Mthembu had not notified her he would be issuing his statement.
Mthembu said Khoza's conduct could no longer be tolerated. "She continues to define herself outside the ANC and we think action now has to be taken.
"What gives her the right to think I need permission from her to issue a statement? I am the leader of that caucus and need nobody's permission to communicate with the public that votes for the ANC."
An MP sympathetic to Mthembu said MPs were surprised by Khoza's remarks because at caucus meetings she had agreed to toe the party line...