Hostility towards Ramaphosa, RET’s plan to weaken his grip, says expert

The rocky road to the ANC national elective conference in December may appear like a stretch, but daggers have already been drawn and are pointing at President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The push by suspended ANC MP Mervyn Dirks to drag him before the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) was part of a strategy by the party’s radical economic transformation (RET) faction to weaken his grip on power, according to political analysts.

Dirks, who yesterday refused to comment to The Citizen, saying he was “still going back to court on the matter of suspension”, has been stripped of his parliamentary responsibilities, with his Scopa membership withdrawn.

This after he asked Scopa to summon Ramaphosa to give answers on remarks he apparently made at a closed ANC national executive committee meeting, that public funds were used to campaign for top positions in the ANC.

Ramaphosa now has nine days left to submit a written explanation after Dirks reported the leaked audio of remarks he made to the NEC.

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While Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast from the department of history and political studies at the Nelson Mandela University and Roland Henwood, University of Pretoria political science lecturer, conceded the Dirks-Ramaphosa standoff reflected the depth of factional battles within the ANC, they maintained Ramaphosa’s reputation was bruised, with legal implications being dire.

“This is a blow for the president because it is a criminal act to withhold information – knowing about the misuse of state funds by the party and doing nothing about it. Unfortunately, you cannot spin that,” said Breakfast.

“In the clip, he came across as someone who wanted to cover up for the ANC. Of course, there could be legal implications for him – casting aspersions on his credibility. If Scopa is dominated by RET forces, then the
president is in trouble.”

He added that in the bigger scheme of things, it is all about the upcoming ANC national conference, with this being used as a proxy war to wage that battle.

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“Mervyn Dirks would be seen as someone holding the executive to account, if he was not embroiled in factional battles.”

Said Henwood: “Obviously, there is an internal angle about the goings-on in party, but the bottom line is how it looks like from the outside. These are serious allegations, which the ANC and the president are doing nothing about. Whether Mervyn Dirks is pro- or anti-Ramaphosa is of no concern to people outside the party.

“He raises the matter in Scopa and sustains it. How does it look like for a president who says one of his key drivers is getting rid of corruption? He has now come across as someone who is protecting the party and his comrades.”

Henwood said the ANC was acting to protect its own interests – also putting its interests above those of the country.

– brians@citizen.co.za