WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2008-04-21 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Jan
By Boyd Webb and Angela Quintal
While ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe might be joining the ruling party’s ranks in Cape Town as an MP next month, a post in President Thabo Mbeki’s cabinet is not yet a done deal.
ANC spokesperson Jessie Duarte said at the weekend that there was still no progress on the issue of Motlanthe’s appointment as a cabinet minister.
ANC parliamentary caucus spokesperson Khotso Khumalo confirmed yesterday that Motlanthe would take up one of four vacancies on ANC benches in parliament when MPs return from their Easter break and constituency period next month.
“I have been told that he will be coming to join us,” Khumalo said on Sunday.
The fourth vacancy arose last month following the death of ANC national executive council (NEC) member and caucus chairman Ncumiso Kondlo.
Political parties are able to re-arrange their party lists for seats in the national assembly once a year, in April, and Motlanthe’s name will be included so that he can qualify for one of the vacant seats.
Kondlo’s successor is expected to be former deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlalala-Routledge, who acted as caucus chairman while Kondlo was on sick leave.
The NEC made it clear during its March meeting that it wanted Motlanthe in Mbeki’s cabinet and would therefore send him to parliament as the first step.
The constitution only allows up to two non-MPs to serve on Mbeki’s executive.
These posts are filled by Mosibudi Mangena and Makhenkesi Stofile.
This is why Motlanthe will first have to be sworn in as an MP so that he can qualify to become a cabinet minister.
However, such an appointment is Mbeki’s constitutional prerogative – not that of the ruling party.
The ANC proposes that Motlanthe become minister without portfolio, given that Mbeki is not about to fire Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka to make room for Motlanthe as deputy head of state.
Mbeki is also on record as saying he will not fire a minister or reshuffle his cabinet, so the establishment of a new cabinet post appears to be the best solution.
Motlanthe is widely tipped to succeed Mbeki as president of the country, should Jacob Zuma’s legal woes keep him out of the running.
But Mbeki told the party leadership at its last NEC meeting that he saw no need to appoint Motlanthe to his executive.
The current stalemate over the issue is complicated by Motlanthe’s reluctance to join cabinet.
ANC leaders feel that the issue will have to be forced on Mbeki, but are unable to say how.
Only three of the ANC’s new national working committee (NWC) members under Jacob Zuma currently serve in Mbeki’s cabinet.
As one of the party’s top six officials, it is felt the Motlanthe should be included as the senior party point man, to serve as a bridge between the old and the new and ensure a smooth transition after the national election.
It would also give Motlanthe some much-needed experience in government.
The need for the new guard to have a strong presence in cabinet became clear during the electricity crisis earlier this year, when the ANC was embarrassed by the government’s assurances that the issue had been taken care of – only to find a major public relations disaster on its hands when more blackouts followed and Eskom proposed a massive tariff hike.
NWC sources have said Mbeki will have to be increasingly pressured to include Motlanthe in his cabinet after all.
It is not clear how the ANC plans to do so, given the deteriorating relationship between Mbeki and his new party bosses.
This situation became clear last week when the ANC publicly contradicted his view that there was no crisis in Zimbabwe.
The NWC also effectively questioned Mbeki’s impartiality as mediator and indicated it would launch a mediation process of its own.