South Africa\u2019s ruling party is cracking down on leaders implicated in corruption, a move that may help it woo back disgruntled voters and reclaim control of several key cities in local government elections in October.<\/p>\n
The African National Congress on Wednesday suspended Ace Magashule, a top official who\u2019s facing charges including money laundering and fraud. His sidelining came a week after president Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged the party needs to do more to combat graft that became endemic during his predecessor Jacob Zuma\u2019s nine-year rule.<\/p>\n
Internal polls conducted by the ANC show that corruption, rather than rampant unemployment and inequality, tops the list of voter concerns, said Fikile Mbalula, the party\u2019s head of elections and a member of its decision-making National Executive Committee.<\/p>\n
Forcing Magashule to step aside should go some way to proving it\u2019s serious about tackling the scourge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ANC is faced with a choice to renew or die,\u201d Mbalula said in an interview. \u201cAt some point we did veer away from good values and we are prepared to break with the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
The African National Congress resolved in 2017 that officials facing criminal charges should quit their posts. Its top leaders finally decided last month to implement the directive and suspend errant members who refuse to step aside.<\/p>\n
Bongani Bongo, an ANC lawmaker who previously served as Zuma\u2019s state security minister, is among others in the firing line. He and Magashule both deny wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1912, the ANC is Africa\u2019s oldest political movement and led the fight against White-minority rule. It took power under Nelson Mandela in the first multiracial elections in 1994, and has secured an outright majority in every national vote since then.<\/p>\n
The party was rocked by repeated corruption scandals during Zuma\u2019s rule, and the government has since estimated that more than R500 billion ($35 billion) was stolen from its coffers.<\/p>\n
Disgruntlement over the looting saw the ANC lose control of Johannesburg, the economic hub, Tshwane, which includes the capital, Pretoria, and several other cities in the last municipal election in 2016.<\/p>\n
The party\u2019s fortunes have picked up since it forced Zuma from office in 2018 and replaced him with Ramaphosa. It reclaimed power in Johannesburg after an opposition coalition unraveled, and its share of the vote ticked up in national polls in 2019.<\/p>\n
Magashule, who as ANC secretary-general oversaw the day-to-day running of the party, has repeatedly undermined Ramaphosa\u2019s authority. His exit should help the president consolidate his control over the ANC and give him greater leeway to implement economic reforms needed to revive the coronavirus-battered economy.<\/p>\n
Rand Gains<\/strong><\/p>\n The rand strengthened as much as 0.8% against the dollar on Wednesday after news of Magashule\u2019s suspension broke, outperforming all emerging-market peers except Brazil\u2019s real. Bonds reversed declines, with yields on benchmark 10-year securities falling two basis points.<\/p>\n The ANC plans to focus on door-to-door campaigning for the October vote, because of limitations on large gatherings imposed due to the coronavirus, according to Mbalula.<\/p>\n The party aims to win outright majorities in all the main cities because coalition governments aren\u2019t optimal, but it is prepared to work with any opposition party should the need arise, he said.<\/p>\n The ruling party could be hamstrung by a lack of funds – it owes millions of rand to the national tax agency and other creditors – and its ability to raise new money could be hindered by new public disclosure rules.<\/p>\n Its relationship with labor unions and the South African Communist Party, which have backed it in prior elections, has also been strained by the government\u2019s attempts to pare back spending and freeze civil-servant wages.<\/p>\n
\n