Former FS Premier and current ANC SG Ace Magashule. Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP
Former FS Premier and current ANC SG Ace Magashule. Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP
In a press release issued on Thursday evening, the ANC NEC stated that it would be holding an ‘ordinary meeting’ this weekend. However, there will be nothing ‘ordinary’ about what crops up on the agenda. The future of Ace Magashule allegedly rests on the outcomes of these scheduled crunch talks.
ANC NEC meeting set for Ace Magashule ‘showdown’
One ANC NEC source has told the Mail & Guardian that the group is ready to ‘pull the trigger’ in the next few days, forcing Ace Magashule to finally step aside from his role while he remains accused of several grand acts of corruption. The party Secretary-General is suspected of facilitating a number of dodgy payments in the Free State asbestos deal.
The noose around Ace’s neck is set to tighten, after the terms of reference for the ANC Integrity Commission were identified as a key discussion topic. Magashule has so far ignored calls to ‘step aside’, despite the resolution given by President Ramaphosa at the start of the year, encouraging corruption-accused members to ‘do the right thing’.
What’s on the agenda this weekend?
Heading into the weekend, the pressure is most certainly on the SG. But Ace Magashule is a study in defiance: He clings to a vast amount of power and influence within the ruling party, and if he is to go down, it won’t be without a fight – the ‘RET faction’ of the ANC will oppose any attempt to shove Ace out the door.
- Party officials confirmed that the meeting would be held virtually:
“The ANC will, from Friday 26 March to Sunday 28 March, hold a regular meeting of its National Executive Committee (NEC). Due to the pandemic, this will be held virtually. The NEC will be meeting to deliberate on a number of issues that require decisions, and to guide its own organisational work.”
The ANC will from tomorrow, Friday, the 26th of March to Sunday, the 28th of March 2021, hold a regular meeting of its National Executive Committee. #ANCNEC pic.twitter.com/uB4UIWcAgy
— ANCLimpopo (@ANCLimpopo) March 25, 2021
