The ANC lists to be submitted to the Electoral Commission of South Africa this week are set to mark a shift for the party, though not necessarily the good kind.
The FM understands that many of those implicated in the Zondo commission’s state capture report are set to return, barring serious intervention by the party’s top seven leadership, which includes President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President Paul Mashatile and chair Gwede Mantashe.
Sources tell the FM that it will boil down to whether the officials intervene to add or remove individuals from the lists, to be submitted on Friday.
But, as a source tells the FM, “the lists are 99.9% done, there is unlikely to be massive changes by the officials”.
One prominent politician who fared poorly in the list process is Angie Motshekga, the long-standing basic education minister, who appears low down on the national list, at 129. Without intervention from the top seven, she is unlikely to return to parliament. Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan has not made the list at all.
On the other hand, Malusi Gigaba does appear high up on the list, and has accepted nomination.
Gigaba resigned from the cabinet and as an MP in 2018 over the damning allegations against him; he was linked to the Guptas and it was alleged that he contributed to the capture of key state-owned entities during his tenure as minister of public enterprises.
Another controversial figure set to make a comeback is Dina Pule, she of the Christian Louboutin shoes — allegedly a gift from her then boyfriend who was a contractor doing business with the communications department, where she was the minister. She was sacked by then president Jacob Zuma in 2013. Pule is understood to be on the list.
Former Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool, South Africa’s ambassador to the US between 2010 and 2015, is also there.
And then there’s former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini. Dlamini was at the heart of the social grants debacle in 2016 and 2017 which left the provision of grants to millions of poor beneficiaries up in the air. She was convicted of perjury in 2022 and sentenced to four years in prison or a R200,000 fine.
The ANC’s guidelines state that you can be ruled out for a spot on the lists only if you’re convicted without the option of a fine.
There are yet more dodgy candidates who made it to the list, including former minister of state security David Mahlobo and former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo. The two were close allies of Zuma, who is now running his own list process as part of the MK Party.
A pleasant surprise inclusion is international relations & co-operation minister Naledi Pandor, who had indicated her desire to leave public life. It is understood that there is a strong feeling in the ANC that the work she is doing in international relations is strategic and crucial, and requires continuity. The ANC list has surpassed its usual gender quota of a 50/50 split, with women making up 53% of those on the list this year.
The top seven themselves are not far from controversy: Mashatile (second on the list) and Mantashe (third) both face allegations which could taint the image of the party
There are few surprises on the provincial front, with Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi topping that list. In Limpopo, premier Cassel Mathale is expected to be sent to the National Assembly. Topping the Limpopo list is health MEC Phophi Ramathuba, expected to become the first woman premier of that province.
Leaders drawn from the ANC’s tripartite alliance partners, the SACP and Cosatu, are low down on the list and seem unlikely to return. These include higher education minister Blade Nzimande and employment & labour minister Thulas Nxesi.
Apart from the return of the Zuma zombies, the lists also reflect a shift to the rising next generation of ANC leaders. Deputy higher education minister Buti Manamela, described as one of the party’s “Young Turks”, appears high up on the list. Other youthful leaders in high positions include justice minister Ronald Lamola, former KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala and former KZN ANC secretary Mdu Ntuli.
The top seven themselves are not far from controversy: Mashatile (second on the list) and Mantashe (third) both face allegations which could taint the image of the party. Mashatile has been the subject of media reports tying him to dodgy entrepreneurs and a lavish lifestyle bankrolled by friends and relatives; he is understood to have requested to appear before the party’s integrity commission. At the Zondo commission, Mantashe was implicated in state capture after dodgy services company Bosasa allegedly erected security features around his property during his tenure as ANC secretary-general.
Ahead of the 2019 election, there was noise about whether those implicated in corruption or governance scandals would be dropped by the ANC. In the end, they were not. The argument then was that many of the individuals under scrutiny had not been convicted of any crimes. It appears that argument has won out again — insiders tell the FM that those implicated in the state capture report, reportedly about 97 people, have not faced charges or been convicted.
“If a democratic process says include them and we don’t, even if they have not been charged, are we not trampling on their rights, can they not then take us to court?” a member of the party’s national executive committee tells the FM.
The lists submitted on Friday will be released for public scrutiny in April, and citizens will then get a chance to object to candidates nominated.
Of course, the ultimate judge will be the voter on May 29.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.