In an interview with city press, Vice President Paul Machattel claimed this There is a plot to remove me. And that those behind it want to remove him from office by next month.
Although he declined to divulge more, this is the first time he has answered direct questions about reports that he has spent significant time in homes owned by two people who did billions of rand business with the state, Edwin Soddy and Ndavi Marida. .
His claims of a “conspiracy” have only been coming for days After a strange statement It was issued by political strategist Bijani Chowk, who is known to be close to Ramaphosa.
“It has come to my attention that there was a manipulated fake WhatsApp conversation regarding a plot to destabilize the operations of the Vice President’s office through the media,” Shook said.
He went on to deny any involvement in such a plot and said someone was manipulating pictures of WhatsApp chats.
Machatel also had to respond to the incident, which was witnessed by members of the VIP protection unit Attack three motorists brutally In what appeared to be an unprovoked assault.
Both the unit and the nurseries said he was not there at the time, and there is no evidence to the contrary.
Once again, South Africa is back in an interesting political space where opposing interests swirl and the stakes are high.
Machatili now has to fight a plot against him (by unnamed people) and the present and very real damage to his credibility for being so close to Sodi, the man who profited from government contracts while also Associated with an outbreak of cholera in Hamanskral.
This may bring back memories of former President Jacob Zuma. He has also claimed, for years, that there is a Conspiracy against him by unknown persons. And he claimed it His friendships with some businessmen It has nothing to do with his role in government.
Of course, Machattel was never an ally of Zuma and was one of the few people in the ANC to publicly oppose Zuma, when he (Mashattel) was representing Gauteng province in the ANC.
Who wants to go to Mashatel?
This leads us to the obvious question: who in the ANC would want Mashatile removed “by August”?
Certainly, at this point, there is no clear person who will take office, nor does it appear that there is a prominent candidate in the ANC, Cabinet or ANC National Executive Committee who will just slip into the position. (We should also not forget how procedurally difficult it is to do this.)
The question leads to speculation that, in fact, the person who wants to remove Mashatel is the only person above him in the pecking order – Ramaphosa himself.
There were some allegations, in the days leading up to the ANC’s December 2022 electoral conference, that Machattel was maneuvering to position himself to be elected ANC President. This was immediately after the Parliament’s committee investigating the Vala Vala scandal recommended measures to impeach Ramaphosa.
Also, it is well known that Mashatile was meeting with investors and trying to convince business leaders that he would be able to solve some of South Africa’s problems.
This is unusual behavior on the part of a vice president and Ramaphosa may have seen it as a sign of excessive ambition.
Mshatel is likely making allegations of a plot to remove him because he worries more information will emerge about him – which is likely if he is The first reports of his lifestyle are true.
What is strange about this is that while some may believe Ramaphosa was responsible, this would be almost the first overtly political act by Ramaphosa in some time. It is hard to believe that the Chief has lost interest in his job (and is “quietly resigned”) and that he or those close to him are trying to sabotage Mashatile.
Tee suggests there is another dynamic at play.
Mantash challenge
Meanwhile, Mbalula V.’s allegations Sunday times that Mantash has “challenged” Ramaphosa on energy policy Refusal to attend the signing ceremony is likely to cause more difficulties for the party leadership.
While Mbalula has shown consistent and strong loyalty to Ramaphosa since 2017, he may lack the political heft for Mantasha to worry about.
When Mantashe was ANC General Secretary, he was able to give the impression that he had some political control over the organisation; Certainly, it was in The party’s center of gravity field.
Mbalula has tried to assert control over the party machinery (and the ANC delegates elected him to the position of general secretary), but he does not have the same charisma as Mantasha. The fact that he made ridiculous claims about owning it “Just landed in Ukraine” and other assertions that they were outright lies, and having results against him from his tenure as Sports Minister, make it difficult for him to act against anyone in the party.
In particular someone has Mantashe experience.
While it is likely that some in the ANC will be frustrated with Mantashe, that does not necessarily mean that Ramaphosa will act against him. If the president didn’t move against him before, why would he do it now? Mbalula’s gesture of support for Ramaphosa may prove meaningless.
However, this collective chaos suggests that those at the helm of the ANC are still focused on their internal rivals rather than on how to help the people of South Africa. Let’s not forget that there are national elections just around the corner.
Spending time and energy on internal battles, when the ANC is in danger of losing the war – staying in power in the national government – does not look good. DM
