The ANC in Gauteng has come out guns blazing in support of embattled Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.
It commended him for his “sterling work” at the National Treasury and said any move to remove him from his crucial position would amount to scapegoating.
This as speculation intensified that Gordhan might be replaced by former Eskom chief executive Brian Molefe – when President Jacob Zuma reshuffles his cabinet – after Parliament announced last week that he would be sworn in as an ANC MP.
Molefe is expected to be sworn in as an MP either today or tomorrow. ANC structures in the North West have revolted against the nomination of Molefe.
An ANC MP said yesterday it would not be an easy process to get Molefe sworn in. He described his arrival in Parliament as bringing a level of uncertainty.
ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu had earlier not said where Molefe would be deployed in Parliament.
The ANC in Gauteng also admitted the scourge of factionalism had “ravaged” the organisation and called for unity, saying a party at war with itself would not be able to lead society.
ANC chief whip in the Gauteng provincial legislature Brian Hlongwa made the remarks following a four-day caucus lekgotla at Erasmia in Tshwane yesterday.
On Friday, the ANC Youth League accused the Treasury of being a stumbling block to the radical economic transformation agenda, saying that under Gordhan’s watch the institution continued to protect white mono- poly capital.
Gordhan, who is widely respected by the markets, was reportedly having a tough time with his colleagues in the cabinet, who criticised him for cutting back on their budget allocations.
Yesterday, Hlongwa, who sits on the ANC provincial executive committee, said they did not agree with the youth league’s call that Zuma should “redeploy” Gordhan.
He viewed the allegations that the Treasury, and by extension Gordhan, were stifling implementation of radical economic transformation as “creating a scapegoat”.
Only Zuma had the prerogative to appoint and redeploy ministers “and if there are issues of performance it is the president who must be able to say that. But from where we sit the minister of finance has been doing a sterling job”.
“Redeploy on what basis and where is the body of evidence that he (Gordhan) is a stumbling block? How can the cabinet of close to 70 people be dictated to by one person? It's irrational. And a number of ministers in President Zuma’s cabinet are members of the national executive committee of the ANC. So this narrative that you have one individual who is a stumbling block is a myth,” Hlongwa told Independent Media.
He said the Budget speech would be difficult for Gordhan because of the sluggish economic growth and the demands on the fiscus which continued to increase “as evidenced by, among other things, the R28bn deficit that is there already in the Budget”.
“Minister Gordhan will be walking a tight rope.”
The provincial ANC structure, said Hlongwa, had confidence ways would be found to increase revenue so as to ensure that the “strategic objectives as defined in Sona are achieved”.
Hlongwa would not say which candidate the province supported to succeed Zuma when he steps down as ANC leader in December.
They would hold a provincial consultative conference and hear what people thought about the organisation, “that we are coming across as arrogant, insensitive to their needs and the social distance and a range of other issues. So, for us the point of departure is to reconnect with the people and arrive at a point where we agree on a set of principles that must guide the process of electing leaders”.
He said attaining unity was paramount because “the issues of factionalism are going to destroy the ANC. For us the issue of unity means being able to engage all structures of the ANC across pro- vincial lines, and have consensus, have a leader that will become a ‘glue’ that will bring different schools of thoughts together.”
Hlongwa said the winner-takes-all approach was not going to work. “The ANC that is at war with itself will not be able to lead society and we are conscious of that. That is why we do not think that it's a wise thing that we start throwing names.”
The party wanted to focus on building unity among the rank and file because “our organisation has been ravaged by factions”.