The ousting by the ANC of the premiers of the Eastern and Western Cape cannot be seen simplistically in terms of divisions between the different camps of the party.
It cannot be seen in terms of divisions between the Mbeki and Zuma camps, and who supported whom at the ANC's Polokwane conference.
In fact, the reasons for replacing the two premiers were very different, said the ANC's secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe.
Speaking on SAfm Radio's After Eight Debate on the topic: "Can the ANC maintain support in the Western and Eastern Cape following recent leadership changes?" Mantashe said the moves were for complex reasons.
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In the Eastern Cape, where premier Nosimo Balindlela was being replaced, the main issue was the level of performance and delivery in the province.
Mantashe said it was obvious there had to be some "repackaging", not only at premier level, but also among MECs.
He said that in the Western Cape quite a number of factors had led to the decision to replace the premier, Ebrahim Rasool.
"But the main factor was the serious infighting that was continuing there between the provincial government and the provincial executive."
Mantashe said the interventions were not related to the levels of party membership in either province. He said the Eastern Cape was one of the highest performing in terms of membership.
The Western Cape was also improving its membership. "The intervention was not at the level of structures but at the level of government."
He said while all this was made perfectly clear by the ANC in its formal communications on the issue, it had been clouded by a culture of leaking information to the media.
The ANC's intervention in the Western Cape had to be expected, said a second member of the debating panel Somadoda Fikeni, political analyst and consultant to the Human Sciences Research Council.
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