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President Jacob Zuma had a sensible reason to fire finance minister Pravin Gordhan but complicated matters when he dragged some intelligence report into his explanation.
According to ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, speaking at a media briefing in Johannesburg, the ANC top six and the national working committee on Monday accepted that there was an “irretrievable breakdown” in the relationship between Zuma and Gordhan.
Mantashe said the explanation provided sufficient grounds for the former minister to be shown the door.
Ahead of the Monday meeting Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa had openly challenged Zuma’s decision to axe Gordhan, while Mantashe bemoaned Zuma’s lack of consultation.
Mantashe said that after one and a half day of talks the ANC top brass “have given to the national working committee a candid report about their serious and difficult disagreement”.
“They have acknowledged that their public dissonance on the matter was a mistake that should not be committed again,” he said.
He said everyone also acknowledged that “consultation is a principle of the organisation and not a favour” in line with the party’s national conference resolutions in Polokwane in 2007.
We had to remind everybody about the resolution, said Mantashe, adding that “consultation is not a favour but a duty for the president, premiers and mayors”.
“And I think it helped many of them,” he said.
He said Zuma brought a list to the ANC top six meeting ahead of the reshuffle on Thursday and “all of us received that list at the same time and raised issues about consultation”.
“The list was given to us, then we discussed it. Consultation is being given a chance to influence a decision,” he said.
Mantashe said “the fact that [ANC MP] Brian [Molefe] is not there [as a new minister or deputy minister] is a function of consultation”.
He said that at the official meeting on Monday “we said everything we wanted to say, candidly and open to each other”.
“Officials reminded each other that they belong together and must work together because they are not an option to each other,” he said.
ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte said the ANC’s integrity committee had also met with the officials and the letter doing the rounds claiming that the committee had recommended Zuma’s resignation was “withdrawn”.
“The letter did not represent the views of the commission and some members saw it for the first time and asked that it be withdrawn,” Duarte said.
She said Zuma was expected to meet the committee next Monday.
Mantashe said: “At the moment there is no letter of the integrity committee that has been received and that has to be implemented.”
He said the ongoing wave of anti-Zuma sentiments driven by the opposition, civil society and some ANC members only managed to push the party to close ranks. It was about the ANC being a self-respecting organisation, he said.
Mantashe said the ANC could not allow for the “enemy general” of the opposing army to command its foot soldiers.
“Only the ANC will discuss, take a decision and make a determination,” he said.
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