ANC’s action against Niehaus, Yengeni, Dlamini ‘purely about rules’

The ANC’s decisive action on its rogue elements – described as being “long overdue” – was unlikely to tilt the balance of forces against President Cyril Ramaphosa at the party’s all-important 55th national elective conference, starting on Friday, political experts said on Monday.

In what has been seen as the ANC enforcing its step-aside resolution taken at the 2017 national conference, the party disciplinary committee has expelled Carl Niehaus – coming in the wake of disqualifying Bathabile Dlamini and Tony Yengeni from being nominated by delegates, due to having criminal records.

Step-aside resolution

Independent political analyst Ralph Mathekga described the swift ANC move as “a long-overdue action, supposed to have been considered in the past”.

“It is so unfortunate that the ANC allowed time before taking the necessary action,” he added.

“What we are seeing is the implementation of the step-aside resolution.”

Mathekga said the action against Niehaus, Yengeni and Dlamini could lead to “some aggrieved delegates to the national conference, either defying or going along with actions taken against the three”.

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The move, he said, was unlikely to affect Ramaphosa that much, “although it is bound to displace people politically, with some going to lose out on political careers”.

Mathekga said: “I think that the step-aside resolution is still going to be debated during plenary on the floor – a move to be instigated by unhappy delegates.

“In a sense, this has destabilised the status quo within the ANC.

“We have, in the past, seen delegates voting for people, while knowing that they have integrity problems.

“Naturally, there will be pockets of resistance – blaming Ramaphosa for the outcome – bringing up the Phala Phala matter.

“This is likely to make things a bit complex, because it also brings the president into the fray.”

‘Applying the rules’

University of Pretoria politics lecturer Roland Henwood, said: “This is more than just taking a stand against those who have gone rogue within the party, it is about applying the rules that have been accepted at the 2017 ANC national conference.

“It is important to stress that these are no new rules that have been made up in the run-up to the 55th conference.

“The important thing to note is that you have a formal structure in the ANC, chaired by Kgalema Motlanthe, who is vetting applications – making sure that they conform with agreed upon rules.

“It is a very slow process, small steps, but an indication that there is an ability in the party to start applying the rules.”

Henwood said there was “a likelihood that some delegates will start playing the factional card, claiming this was used to act against Ramaphosa enemies within the ANC”.

“The issue is that people have started to position themselves in terms of particular positions or factions – conforming to their own behaviour as members of the party – things they have done wrong in their private lives.

“These are people who have been formally charged, found guilty and brought the party into disrepute – nothing made up in a factional battle.

“It is purely about the application of the rules, affecting those who did things that were not acceptable to the party,” he said.

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On whether this would affect the support already garnered by Ramaphosa during the countrywide ANC nomination process, Henwood said: “It may or it may not, because there are too many unanswered questions on Phala Phala.

“The thing with this issue is two-fold: the narrative is dictated by his opponents and the second issue is that he has not answered any questions – something that could put him under pressure at the conference.

“The question is to what extent is Phala Phala a self-made situation?”