On Tuesday, the highest decision making body of the ANC, the NEC’s meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday in Cape Town, has been postponed for next weekend 17 and 18 February.
According to ANC’s secretary general Dr Ace Magashule (who said he only attended the meeting at the last tail end of it) the decision to postpone the meeting was taken by both Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramphosa, following their meeting last night.
“I can confirm that there was a meeting between the two presidents. The two presidents agreed. President Ramaphosa, because of the constructive meeting between himself and Zuma, has requested us to postpone the NEC.
“There have been constructive discussions between the presidents. They also discussed SONA. They agreed that we postpone SONA as well as the NEC in order to allow them a further chance to talk…
“We allowed the two presidents to engage and then I came at the end of the meeting when they were wrapping up. Let’s leave the discussion where it is, between the two presidents.
“We will hear from both the presidents once they’ve concluded the issue. The NEC will meet at the weekend. The two of them will continue discussing after this fruitful and constructive discussion,” said Magashule.
Does the postponement of the NEC meeting mean further delay in SONA and Budget Speech and will other projects or programmes such as visiting Nelson Mandela’s grave site on February 11 2018, go ahead after Mandla Mandela turned down the visit during the ANC’s 106 Celebrations in East London early this year?
Various political analysts had a filled day as they tried to make out what could have informed such decisions, etc.
Aubrey Matshiqi even went as far as alluding ‘Ramaphosa is the head of ANC but but does not have control or authority of the ANC’.
SACP throwed the spanner in the works by asking if indeed Zuma ‘agrees or denies’ if he will recall Ramaphosa and alleged tribalism he’s hatching after meeting so called Amabutho (Zulu regiments), amongst others?
“The SACP condemns ethnic mobilisation (and) challenges President Zuma to deny or confirm emerging information that, in pursuit of private interests, he is preparing to fire Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa,” the party said in a statement released on Tuesday evening.
Such shenanigans would affect the rand and the economy, one way or the other.
The venue for the NEC meeting is yet to be confirmed.
Meanwhile, reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin was supposed to be hosted by Zuma this week has been labeled as fake news.
