In an odd twist, Luthuli House’s “Holy Trinity” has become the archfiend.
Paul Mashatile, as things stand, remains the front-runner in the ANC race for the deputy president post. With 1,791 nominations, far ahead of other contenders Ronald Lamola (427) and Oscar Mabuyane (397), Mashatile appears to be a shoo-in for the post.
He was dubbed the “Holy Trinity” by national executive committee member Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma after he had to step in as acting secretary-general and deputy secretary-general, while fulfilling his own role as the party’s treasurer. This followed the suspension of secretary-general Ace Magashule and the death of deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte.
Mashatile, as the only permanent ANC official based at Luthuli House, was a natural choice to run things; no-one else put up their hand so he got stuck with those responsibilities. As secretary-general, he has had to convene marathon regional and provincial conferences, many of which were long overdue thanks to the ban on gatherings from 2020.
At the same time, the ANC has battled to raise funds — Mashatile is on record attributing some of these difficulties to the new Political Party Funding Act — but it also relates to the party simply being a poor investment given its electoral, intellectual and moral slide over the past decade.
So Mashatile became the face of an ANC that could not pay its staff on time. Now, he is facing a severe pushback from lobbyists aligned to both President Cyril Ramaphosa and former health minister Zweli Mkhize.
The reasons behind it are many.
One Ramaphosa lobbyist described him as “corrupt”, but could not point to any specific allegation against him.
“Why do you think he’s called the don of the Alex mafia?”
Mashatile told the FM in an interview in August that the term “Alex mafia” is not unique to his generation — it was used to refer to a group of activists from the Gauteng settlement back in the 1960s. These include Umkhonto we Sizwe’s Joe Modise and Josiah Jele, as well as Thomas Nkobi and Joe Nhlanhla.
“It is political … there is nothing illegal about it,” he said at the time.
Mashatile is seen as a smooth backroom operator and dealmaker, leaving his comrades from other provinces decidedly uncomfortable in his presence. After all, his election as treasurer at Nasrec in 2017 took many of them by surprise.
Mashatile is seen as a smooth backroom operator and a dealmaker, leaving his comrades from other provinces decidedly uncomfortable in his presence
Another criticism is that he can’t be trusted — lobbyists from the Mkhize camp say they backed Mashatile for the post of deputy president, but Mashatile’s home province, Gauteng, failed to rally behind Mkhize and nominated Ramaphosa for president instead. It is unclear whether there was any agreement between the two leaders to trade support.
The same applies to Limpopo chair Stan Mathabatha — who is contesting the ANC chair position. Limpopo threw its weight behind Mashatile for deputy president, but Gauteng nominated deputy minister of finance David Masondo for chair. Again, it is unclear whether there was an agreement to trade support.
Mashatile’s backers argue that this does not mean he can’t be trusted because he did not have any formal agreements with any of the lobby groups now crying foul.
Another, more ardent concern for Ramaphosa lobbyists is that Mashatile is waiting in the wings to pounce on the presidency. They believe he is waiting for Phala Phala to trip up Ramaphosa so that he can step into the top spot.
For now, however, Mashatile is on record saying he supports the president and he has first-hand experience in Gauteng of Ramaphosa’s impact on the ANC’s electoral prospects.
Against all odds, the ANC managed to hold onto the province — even if by a mere 51% — in 2019, due largely to Ramaphosa as the face of that campaign.
So the race for the post of deputy president next week, when the ANC convenes its national conference, remains a hot one to watch. The FM understands that the two Ramaphosa-aligned candidates on the ballot paper, Lamola and Mabuyane, are already in talks to consolidate their support.
If a deal is struck, one of the two will withdraw from the race for the deputy presidency and throw his support behind the other, who will then get support to contest for treasurer-general.
The “Renew22” campaign aligned to Ramaphosa is set to nominate its preferred candidate for the deputy presidency from the floor of the conference, Senzo Mchunu, who did not muster enough branch votes to make it onto the ballot paper. He would need support from 25% of delegates at the gathering to stand for election. It’s a long shot.
Who can forget the hapless Mchunu being hoisted into the air at Nasrec in 2017, after the new secretary-general was announced? Mchunu and his backers were so confident they had won, but the name announced as the victor was, in fact, that of one Ace Magashule. It was a devastating blow. His backers this time are displaying the same blind, pseudo-mathematical faith.
Will Luthuli House’s “Holy Trinity” be thrust into the sanctum of the Union Buildings against the odds, with the two baying factions working against him?
His success would be a study in chutzpah.
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