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The Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula. (Photo by Gallo Images / Lefty Shivambu) Ace Magashule, Secretary General of the ANC. (Photo by Felix Dlangamandla / Netwerk24)
The political week has been dominated by the allegations made by Fikile Mbalula against the infantrymen of Ace Magashule of the MKMVA, amid intense speculation that Magashule will soon be arrested on charges related to corruption in the Free State. On Tuesday night, Magashule responded publicly for the first time.
In response to the accusations by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule appeared to show that he does not intend to fight this directly in public. But it seems to be trying to gain some support in KwaZulu-Natal. However, in a comment that may prove crucial to future land and policy debates, Magashule noted that it accepts the expropriation bill as a fulfillment of the ANC’s Nasrec resolution of “expropriation without compensation”.
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Tuesday morning Mbalula’s accusations against the MKMVA and Magashule were broadcast to the nation. On Tuesday afternoon Mbalula gave an extraordinary interview to Newzroom afrika, in which he said he supported everything he had tweeted on Monday.
He then went on to say, on live television, that the MKMVA was moving with corrupt intent in its protests against the SA Passenger Railroad Agency (Prasa), and that MKMVA spokesman Carl Niehaus was working for Magashule in Luthuli House. Mbalula said it was unclear what Niehaus did in the secretary general’s office, but perhaps “he was in charge of organizing protests” against the ANC leadership.
Mbalula also said that the MKMVA and Magashule had a duty to follow the leadership of President Cyril Ramaphosa, and that while he did not want Ramaphosa to win in Nasrec, he had a duty to support him because “he is my leader.”
Meanwhile, in KwaZulu-Natal, Magashule was in a meeting with the MKMVA leadership in that province. The KZN ANC said that the meeting was about the KZN structures of the MKMVA and that Magashule was meeting with them in his official position as general secretary.
Then, early in the afternoon, Magashule emerged alongside MKMVA national leader Kebby Maphatsoe to speak publicly and answer questions while flanked by several dozen MKMVA members.
Magashule spoke about the importance of the MKMVA and “those who fought for freedom.” He said there were people who “disrespected those who fought for freedom,” in what was his first apparent reference to Mbalula.
He continued: “What we should never do is listen to what the media says about us. We must solve our problems internally, we must argue and debate, you must have the freedom to speak your mind. This is how the ANC has taught us ”.
Magashule told the assembled MKMVA members: “You are important. Umkhonto we Sizwe is important. Those who have not fought for freedom, those who do not know MK’s contribution will always undermine MK. “
He then made several intriguing comments about the KZN ANC. Over the past two years, the province has given the impression of moving slowly towards supporting Ramaphosa, despite having attended the Nasrec conference with most of its branches supporting Cogta’s minister, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.
Magashule said: “In a revolution, there is a counterrevolution… when KZN is divided, the ANC will be divided. You must be solid, you must stand firm, you must be disciplined, you must be respected … respect the leadership of the province ”.
This appears to be a gesture of support for ANC KZN leader Sihle Zikalala. Certainly, it is a gesture of respect towards him. It was Zikalala who recently said that those in the ANC who were implicated in corruption must obey the decision of the National Executive Committee that they should “step aside.”
Now it may be vital to see Magashule on KZN in the future. If the province gave him its support, it could change the whole dynamic in the ANC.
However, it was Magashule’s comments on the land and expropriation that may prove, in the long run, the most important.
It is well known that the “RET faction” (radical economic transformation) comprises those who oppose Ramaphosa and support Magashule and former President Jacob Zuma. One of their demands is that all the resolutions of the Nasrec conference be implemented, which would include the expropriation of land without compensation and the nationalization of the Reserve Bank.
This can sometimes be used to pressure Ramaphosa, as it means that he would have to make governance decisions that could negatively impact investment and the economy.
Magashule referred to this and said: “We will implement the resolutions of the conference without fail, we are beginning to do so. Thoko [Land Reform Minister Thoko Didiza] has initiated a serious bill for the expropriation of land without compensation. That bill will pass. It is now available for public comment. “
He continued: “Thoko has told us that he is going to announce state land that is available in South Africa. We are beginning to implement those resolutions, we will do it without fail ”.
This was a reference to the expropriation bill that was Posted by Cabinet on Sunday.
It contains very strictly defined circumstances under which land can be expropriated without compensation.
However, people who study this issue, and particularly both agrarian reform and land restitution, have been very critical of the draft. Both advocate and author Thembeka Ngcukaitobi and land teacher Ruth Hall said Tuesday that this bill would have almost no impact on land ownership patterns. They also noted that it was not referring at all to land restitution.
This, then, could have been an important playing field for Magashule and the RET faction; they could have used it to pressure Ramaphosa.
But it seems they are accepting the bill instead. This will be important if the problem reheats in the ANC.
After Magashule finished speaking, there was a brief moment for questions.
Magashule explained in response to the inevitable question about Mbalula that “we raise issues internally. Sometimes I feel like I’m not happy, I’m a member of the NEC … we will involve Mbalula as a member of the National Work Committee, we will participate. I can’t get him publicly involved … and try to understand what the problems are. “
A reporter at the scrum then asked him about the role Niehaus plays in his office, what does he really do for the ANC? Magashule’s reply was terse: “Why do you want to know?” He then said that Niehaus had been working for the ANC for years.
This is a fascinating insight into a strange situation.
It is well known that Niehaus is a liar and a cheater. He was fired from the ANC as a spokesman in 2009 after it was discovered that he lied in the past. But Magashule hired him again. And Niehaus himself has refused to explain exactly what he does in that office.
It should be no secret what a person in the ruling party’s secretary general’s office actually does for their salary. And yet both he and his boss refuse to divulge this.
It is clear that there are important dynamics that reach a higher and higher pitch. And that Magashule is trying to gain some support for what is to come. However, the MKMVA, however militant, will not be enough. It is a “semi-structure” of the ANC and has a corrupt leadership. Speaking in public surrounded by people wearing MK vet camo will not be enough to save Magashule.
But it will give him a path to a foothold from which to try to gain the support of other sections of the ANC. However, it is likely to be a rocky road. DM
