'New' ANC primed to go

Gentlemen, start yer enjuns. Clever move by Shilowa. This ensures the ANC does not know who will be available for the election. If there is a mass exodus as predicted, the ANC will have to scramble to find replacements in time for the election and as we've seen from the chaotic meetings and infighting, that's not a simple process. It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.

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ANC can’t count on Mandela

Now ANC losing its Western Cape members in droves

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High-profile members of the ANC who are behind the splinter group in the party have been told to remain in their positions for now, but could be called up in the new year when the election machinery is expected to go into overdrive.

"By the end of January, ANC president Jacob Zuma will be left with only his hotheads in his party. We will be joining the new ANC as and when the party tells us to resign," a senior government official said last week.

This was confirmed by former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa, who said many senior members of the ANC had offered to resign en masse in a show of force, but that this was not preferred.

"Our approach is that these cadres must remain in the ANC and not disrupt their lives by leaving paid jobs now," said Shilowa.

"We will call each of them to relinquish their ANC responsibilities as and when we want them to play specific roles in advancing our course," Shilowa told City Press, adding these leaders were spread across various sectors.

'Donkey' work done
Shilowa said the "donkey" work had been done, volunteers had offered their time, business had offered offices and resources, and that it was time for South Africans to "think hard" about the new party.

It is believed that ANC national executive committee member Charlotte Lobe resigned her positions in the party last week in line with Shilowa's directive. Her specific and immediate task was to "secure" the Free State.

Lobe's resignation ahead of the planned convention at which the formation of the new political party will be discussed, suggested she could be one of former ANC chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota's key lieutenants in the province.

"I feel the current state of the ANC says there is a need for an alternative. For me, the fact that I chose to resign when I was in the NEC tells you that I am doing so purely on principle," Lobe said.

And, added a Free State leader, it also tells you how deep the problems are.

"There were problems even before Polokwane, but the previous ANC leadership was able to unite members behind the ANC vision.

"I have no problem with the leadership that was elected at the national conference in Polokwane. I have a problem with its inability to unite the ANC," Lobe said.

She said she had informed her constituency in Botshabelo, and that they were "happy" that she had stood for "the truth".

'Black DA'
The public declarations of support for the new party were being managed carefully, with Shilowa expecting more people in areas such as Vhembe in Limpopo, Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga, and Knysna in Western Cape to come forward this week.

Cosatu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi said of Shilowa on Saturday: "He is a businessman who is trying to hoodwink the poor and this is an elite project. If you listen carefully to what they stand for, you will see that they are nothing but a black Democratic Alliance."

Shilowa said his critics were hellbent on assassinating his character because they feared him, his mobilising skills and his likely appeal to the workers.

Dubious agendas
In his occasional blog on the organisation's website, Zuma threw down the gauntlet to those who "have been working behind the scenes" to undermine his leadership and dared them to come out in the open.

Zuma said the party found itself with "members with dubious agendas who clearly did not want to be led".

He expressed pleasure that some of them had come out "instead of operating clandestinely within our structures".

"No serious liberation movement would allow factionalism within its ranks and permit people to undermine it openly from within, as this would halt the progress the ANC is making in its efforts to create a better life for all," he wrote.