A (Chancellor) House divided: Zuma must say where the ANC stands

The unheeded calls from the Minister of Public Enterprises, Barbara Hogan, the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, and ANC Treasurer Mathews Phosa, for the ANC's front company to disinvest its stake in Hitachi show that yet another profoundly significant fissure has emerged within the senior structures of the ANC. While Hogan, Gordhan and Phosa all correctly argue that the ANC must disinvest, Popo Molefe and Gwede Mantashe are flatly refusing to do so. The situation appears to have come to a head this morning with Mr. Phosa calling Mr. Molefe a liar in the Sunday Times (see report).

This sort of infighting reflects the President's inability or unwillingness to take a lead on issues, and state categorically what he believes is right. The president, having apparently lost his moral compass a while ago, seems to refuse to ever take a definitive stance on an issue. So it is with Hitachi - we don't know what it is that the President believes, and neither, it seems, do any of his leadership. Hence we now have the umpteenth breakdown between senior ANC politicians.

We believe, however, that the President now has little choice but to state publicly what his position is on Hitachi.

He must explain why, if the ANC fails to disinvest, Mr. Gordhan, Ms. Hogan and Mr. Phosa are all wrong on this issue. If he believes they are correct, then he needs to justify why the ANC's front company invested in Hitachi to begin with, and how it is right that the ANC will now gain at the expense of ordinary South Africans. And he must state whether or not he will support our private members bill, which would regulate the awarding of government tenders in order to ensure that no business entity in which a political party has an interest, can tender with government or a parastatal.

Statement issued by Sejamothopo Motau, MP, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of energy, April 18 2010

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