Durban - Issuing a harsh statement against finance minister Tito Mboweni, the ANC has reminded him that its leaders must uphold and defend conference resolutions.
For years, Mboweni has held a dissenting view on nationalising the Reserve Bank
The ANC is not likely to act any further against Mboweni who, against the wishes of the ANC in Gauteng, drew a line on the sand and said e-tolls will not be scrapped and that “the user must pay”.
Mboweni took to Twitter on Tuesday evening to say the 2017 decision at the Nasrec ANC conference was “a wrong resolution”. The ANC then issued a strong-worded statement, expressing concern about his public posture. The party stressed he should act with care and be cautious at all times on matters of policy given his position as the country's minister of finance.
“The African National Congress (ANC) is concerned about the public posture taken by Comrade Tito Mboweni in relation to resolutions and policy positions of the ANC, specifically on the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). It is our view that Comrade Tito should act with care and be cautious at all times on matters of policy given his position as the Minister of Finance, including subjecting himself to the overall Communications Protocols of the African National Congress.
“Those who serve in leadership structures of our movement, especially within the National Executive Committee; (NEC), the highest decision-making body in between conferences, are expected at all times to uphold and defend resolutions of the ANC on public platforms,” reads the first part of the statement.
In a further rebuke of the minister, the party added that its national leaders are collective custodians of democratic centralism.
“Elected leaders of the ANC are therefore not freelancers and remain bound by the overall prescripts of our organisational values and discipline in pursuance of the National Democratic Revolution. The leadership of the ANC is expected to appreciate the need to articulate a consistent, coherent and unifying message on policy positions.
Unfortunate public spats initiated without any form of provocation feeds into the narrative of “lack of policy certainty,” the party added in the statement.
Giving its view on the issue of the Reserve Bank, the party said its national executive committee (NEC) has already reaffirmed a conference resolution to return the sovereignty of this important national institution to the people of South Africa as a whole.
“Presenting the January 8 statement on the occasion of the 108th Anniversary on behalf of the National Executive Committee, President Cyril Ramaphosa restated the organization’s reaffirmation of the role, mandate and independence of the Reserve Bank, and that it will undertake the process towards full public ownership of the Bank in a manner and according to a timeframe that is prudent and affordable and that does not benefit private shareholder speculators.”
The issue of the bank has left the ANC deeply divided. The pro-radical economic transformation faction in the party wants it to be nationalised while the other faction which is pro-President Cyril Ramaphosa wants it to be left as an independent institution.