While his unorthodox approach to issues has won him both friends and enemies, outgoing ANC national chair Gwede Mantashe has proven to be a dependable ally of President Cyril Ramaphosa. That is, if his intervention in ensuring party MPs toed the line during voting on the Section 89 report and the quelling of heckling of Ramaphosa during his speech at the 55th ANC elective conference, is anything to go by.
It was Mantashe’s no-nonsense intervention that saved Ramaphosa from MPs who wished to break ranks with the party line on the Phala Phala report voting and the squashing of the booing by KwaZulu-Natal delegates in Nasrec, that underscored his strategic role as the power behind the president’s political survival.
Mantashe effective at difficult times
University of Pretoria politics lecturer Roland Henwood said Mantashe has been quite effective at difficult times – though he has also alienated himself from many in the ANC. “That he has become a deeply loyal, steady and dependable leader for the ANC, is not in doubt,” he said.
“One can also think of his role in the initial [Jacob] Zuma leadership contest and election – and through the Zuma years, when he managed ANC members and elected representatives.”
Facing off with radical economic transformation supported Stan Mathabatha and SACP’s David Masondo for the ANC national chair position, Mantashe has been known for being loyal to an incumbent elected leader.
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“In analysing Mantashe’s legacy, one has to keep in mind the changing political realities and the deep factionalism that developed under the leadership of Zuma. On his impact in the ANC, there is an impression by some, of Mantashe as being ‘out of touch’ – with his seemingly authoritarian reaction being challenged or questioned.”
Dependable enforcer
Political analyst Ongama Mtimka of the Nelson Mandela University said Mantashe would “go down in the history of South African politics as a dependable enforcer for presidents Zuma and Ramaphosa”.
He added: “Both presidents have been happy with someone restoring order – whether that order was protecting a regime that was becoming unlawful or was starting to infringe on the rights of democratic institutions.
“In all instances, he has shown to be a person who is committed to pro-party solutions, than upsetting party relations. In the eyes of Ramaphosa and his support base, Mantashe has cemented his role as someone to be depended on, having shown courage in confronting things that are not easy to deal with.”
Policy analyst and human rights activist Dr Nkosikhulule Nyembezi concurred, saying Mantashe has earned praise and criticism for his role as an enforcer of the party line.
“This, as Ramaphosa detractors were determined to throw missiles aimed at his political demise. Mantashe’s role has revealed the ANC as an emperor who can hardly dress himself and will soon become undeniably naked.
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“Dissenting voices in ANC national executive committee, parliament and in the conference, raise the easily-answered question: Is leading the party by perpetual crisis a convenient strategy or is it a natural consequence of the current leadership’s failure over the last five years to forge party unity and organisational renewal?
“Some might think that leaders like Mantashe should have realised earlier that this drift and chaos is unsustainable for the party and should have acted more decisively to neutralise the anti-Ramaphosa factions.”
A veteran Western Cape ANC leader, attending the conference as a delegate, told The Citizen that without Mantashe, Ramaphosa would find it hard to survive within the ANC “due to being surrounded by opponents in the new top seven”.
