Attempt to remove Paul Mashatile thwarted for now

The knives are out for ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile as a handful of Cyril Ramaphosa-aligned national executive committee (NEC) members want him removed as acting secretary-general.

The call to remove Mashatile was made at Tuesday’s NEC meeting but was stifled because it was not on the agenda.

NEC sources say the group that wants Mashatile to be ousted cited administrative reasons for their call, but strategically it appeared they do not want him at the helm in the build-up to the December elective conference.

“They definitely want to dislodge Paul for raising a hand,” said one NEC source.

“They don’t want him at the helm of process. That’s the issue,” said the source.

It appears the move was first raised by ANC Eastern Cape secretary Lulama Ngcukaitobi, who argued it would not make sense for Mashatile to present two critical reports at the national conference in December.

As it stands, Mashatile would present the financial report from his office as well as the organisational report from the secretary-general’s office (SGO)— a capacity he has been acting in since the suspension of Ace Magashule and Jesse Duarte taking ill before her death.

“Lulama is [asking whether] at the national conference ... Mashatile [IS] going to present the SGO report and also the treasurer’s report. But they have a legal problem because there is no vacancy in the SGO. The SG is there, he’s on step aside, he’s suspended. So it’s not a vacancy. The court can decide to drop all the charges tomorrow and say go back to work,” an NEC insider said.

Ngcukaitobi is said to have been backed by Derek Hanekom, Mondli Gungubele and Aaron Motsoaledi.

Their attempts to raise the matter, however, fell flat when they were told the issue was not on the agenda.

ANC national chair Gwede Mantashe allegedly told the meeting the matter could not be entertained as it had not been properly processed and did not go through the working committee or the officials.

Gungubele had allegedly said Mashatile was overstretched, and could not even pay employees, and it is uncertain whether he will be able to pay for the national conference.

Another NEC source claimed, without elaborating, that it was not a surprise Ngcukaitobi raised the matter, because the Eastern Cape has issues with Mashatile.

Other NEC members are said to have spoken strongly against it, including Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is said to have questioned where the issue was coming from as she was satisfied with Mashatile’s performance in the office.

Hanekom is said to have suggested that Gwen Ramokgopa, the co-ordinator in the secretary-general’s office, take over from Mashatile.

However, Ramokgopa is not an elected official and cannot take over. This was the same argument used earlier in 2022 before she was appointed co-ordinator.

“They won’t win it, it’s not possible and Derek, by coming up with the name of Gwen, is making it worse for people to see that there is a caucus here,” a source said.

According to the insider, NEC member and head of organising Nomvula Mokonyane, speaking against the move, argued that the only way to install someone in the secretary-general’s office is to call for a national general council (NGC).

“They are not going to win because they will get no support. First, legally there is no vacancy, so you can’t evoke section 10 of the constitution. The only way of filling a vacancy, which is what Nomvula was arguing, is to call an NGC, which is impossible now we’re going to conference. The process of nominating is starting, so there is no point,” the insider said.

Gungubele declined to comment saying: “I don’t discuss internal discussions of the ANC with the media.”

Hanekom had not responded to questions by the time of publishing. This story will be updated if he responds.

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