ANC showing far from united front

The decision by the national executive committee (NEC) of the ANC to stick with President Jacob Zuma for the sake of unity has left the ruling party more divided than ever before and, we would suggest, left the myth of any true consensus a tattered banner waving in an ill wind.

The pro-Zuma faction cannot claim anything like a resounding victory, despite 54 of the 72 NEC members eventually going against the motion to recall the president – although it is understood that many of them were initially more than a little hesitant about voting either way.

“Various contributions in support of and against the appeal to the president to step down were raised. Many more were neither in favour nor against the appeal but emphasised the need for unity within the organisation,” was the way ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe put it at a subsequent media conference.

This signifies a far from united front and makes any decision eventually reached at December’s elective conference take on added significance.

This Friday’s expected decision by ratings agency Moody’s to join fellow heavyweights Standard & Poor’s and Fitch to downgrade the South African economy to junk status is equally meaningful.

It is a further body blow neither this country, nor the ANC, can particularly afford.

At best though, Zuma’s escape from party sanction this time out for unity’s sake cannot signal more than a respite from the pressure the president is under.

Ranged against him is the parliamentary opposition; increasing evidence of an unhealthy alliance with the Gupta family; backing former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report; and calls for Zuma to go from elements as diverse as big business, a panel of academics, labour federation Cosatu and SA Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande saying a number of factors made the SACP pose the possibility of contesting the election.

It’s far from over yet.

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