Splinter party ready to launch

After weeks of intense speculation, a new ANC breakaway party is set to be announced before the end of this month.

Smuts Ngonyama
The decision to formally announce the establishment of a new political party was taken at a secret plenary meeting held in Johannesburg on Friday night attended by several disgruntled ANC heavyweights and representatives from various provinces.

The former head of the ANC presidency, Smuts Ngonyama, who is also one of former president Thabo Mbeki’s close confidants, was allegedly present.

Other ANC leaders in attendance included a prominent Limpopo MEC, a former Northern Cape ANC provincial leader and several other provincial ANC leaders, including disgruntled Free State ANC leaders who recently failed in their bid to topple the provincial chairman, Ace Magashule.

Ngonyama admitted he was in Johannesburg on Friday but denied that he had “any meeting”.

However, he said that many ANC members were disaffected after the axing of Mbeki.

“People are not happy with the manner in which things are being done (in the ANC) and the general behaviour, which is completely crude,” he said.

“The language, the approach, it’s a bit odd and it has created general discomfort, this bullyism which has crept into the movement all of a sudden.”

Mbhazima Shilowa
Various names have been suggested for the splinter party. A businessman close to the ANC said he knew that the names that had been touted include ANC Democratic Front, ANC Plus, National African Congress and the Real ANC.

The party will adopt ANC colours with slight changes to the logo. The shield and the wheel will also be used, he said.

The businessman told the Sunday Times that some of the black economic empowerment heavyweights, who “immensely benefited from the Mbeki era”, are key to funding the new party.

Although no agreement has been reached about who is going to be the face of the new party, the Sunday Times has been told that the name of former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa has been mentioned. Shilowa resigned his position this week in protest against the axing of Mbeki as president by the ANC.

Others who are expected to join include several former ministers who resigned their cabinet positions in solidarity with Mbeki.

Musiuoa Lekota

Shilowa’s resignation and former defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota’s open rebellion against the ANC leadership this week are said to have been well calculated to give “further impetus to the formation of this party”.

According to various insiders, plans are at an advanced stage to formally launch provincial chapters of the new party in Limpopo, Free State, Eastern Cape, North West, the Northern Cape and the Western Cape. They will all be headed by an “interim leadership” corps.

While they are still planning ways of launching in Gauteng, the organisers believe the political climate in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga is not yet conducive to the formal launch.

It was initially the plan to launch the party in Limpopo but it has now been suggested that the launch may take place in Kliptown, where the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955.

The ANC Youth League in Limpopo said in a statement this week that it would “smash” the formation of any party formed in support of Mbeki.

“We are saying to them, they can form or launch the party anywhere in the country but not in Limpopo, the home of the ANC. We don’t want any renegades on our turf.”