Step-aside rule: ANC cracks the whip

Newly elected eThekwini ANC regional chairperson Zandile Gumede and a host of senior members facing criminal charges will have to go as Luthuli House tightens the screws against members who agreed to be elected into power positions, despite being criminally indicted.

The ANC suffered reputational damage in recent weeks when Gumede and suspended Mpumalanga MEC for agriculture Mandla Msibi were elected into ANC senior structures while still facing criminal charges.

Gumede is up for corruption and fraud arising from the R300 million sanitation contract in the eThekwini metro. Msibi and others have been charged with murder and attempted murder for allegedly killing of a man at Coyote’s Shisa Nyama in Mpumalanga.

The ANC national executive committee (NEC), which discussed this and other issues during its special session at the weekend, conceded that its image had suffered damage as result of members who agreed to be elected, despite facing charges.

The NEC agreed to tighten the rules – which could see Gumede forced to resign as chair of the powerful eThekwini region. In terms of the step-aside rule, members facing charges were asked to voluntarily step aside, failing which the ANC constitution’s rule 25.70 would kick in and a disciplinary process started.

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Many party members, including Gumede and Msibi, took advantage of the fact that the step-aside rule was silent on whether members subjected to the rule should avail themselves for election or not.

The party’s top six is to investigate and come up with proposals on how to effectively implement the rule.

The NEC remained concerned about members who accepted being elected while they knew that they had been charged criminally.

There were fears that should Gumede be allowed to remain in the position for long, the ANC would not be able to stop suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule from contesting at the December national conference, despite having stepped aside.

Magashule previously indicated his intention to challenge President Cyril Ramaphosa for the party presidency.

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Step-aside policy guidelines and procedures were adopted in February 2021 to deal with graft and criminality within the ANC. But it omitted to provide for charged members not to stand for election in party branches or for regional, provincial executive committees or the NEC.

“The NEC further noted that a number of members who have been indicted in courts of law, some on serious charges, accepted nomination for such positions after stepping aside voluntarily, only to step aside again immediately after being elected.

“The NEC noted with concern that this has resulted in confusion and serious reputational damage to the organisation,” the party said in a statement.

The ANC urged its members to be above reproach and warned that “any misconduct or dishonesty would be dealt with in a serious and consistent manner”.

The party also dusted off its long-forgotten leadership criteria document, Through the Eye of a Needle, which required that a leader should lead by example and should be above reproach in his or her political and social conduct.

The document was put on the backburner as even allegedly corrupt members, including convicts, got elected into party structures and state institutions such as municipal councils.

The NEC recognised that the step-aside resolution constituted an important groundbreaking element for renewal of the organisation.

– ericn@citizen.co.za