Malema Faces Suspension From S. Africa’s ANC, Boosting Zuma
November 10, 2011, 7:54 AM ESTBy Franz Wild
(Updates with suspension reports in fifth paragraph.)
Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s ruling African National Congress may suspend youth leader Julius Malema today in a move that could sideline President Jacob Zuma’s most vocal opponent before next year’s party leadership contest.
Malema, 30, was charged with indiscipline after he called for the ouster of neighboring Botswana’s government, which he described as a “puppet of the West.” The ANC’s National Disciplinary Committee will announce its verdict on Malema and five other Youth League leaders in Johannesburg at 10 a.m. after almost three months of hearings.
A suspension or expulsion would “rob Malema of the platform to stand there and speak on behalf of the ANC,” political analyst Sipho Seepe, author of Speaking Truth to Power, said by phone yesterday. “This takes away the one voice that was vociferously against Zuma. It definitely strengthens Zuma’s position.”
Malema’s ANC Youth League was instrumental in Zuma’s successful drive to defeat former President Thabo Mbeki for the leadership of the party and Africa’s biggest economy. Now it’s lost faith in Zuma after he didn’t back a Youth League call for the nationalization of mines in South Africa, the world’s top producer of platinum and chrome.
The ANC may suspend Malema for a year, the Johannesburg- based Star and Business Day newspapers reported, citing members of the party it didn’t identify. The ANC’s disciplinary committee had endorsed the prosecution’s recommendation that Malema be found guilty on one charge of bringing the ANC into disrepute, with the chairman, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Derek Hanekom, said to have recommended that he be suspended for a year, the Star reported.
Protest March
South Africa’s unemployment rate of 25.7 percent is the highest of 61 countries tracked by Bloomberg. Among those below the age of 25, the figure is almost twice the national average, according to data from the statistics agency.
Malema last month led thousands of young supporters on a 62-kilometer (39-mile) march between Johannesburg and Pretoria, calling for nationalization and jobs. Protesting outside Zuma’s official offices, Malema and other participants made hand gestures resembling those signaling a substitution in a soccer match, indicating they want a change in leadership.
South Africa’s biggest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, and newspapers have called on Malema to explain how he funds his lifestyle, including owning a house in an affluent Johannesburg suburb, luxury cars and expensive watches.
The police’s Hawks anti-corruption unit and the tax agency are investigating Malema because companies linked to him won government tenders, the Johannesburg-based Sunday Times and Sunday Independent newspapers reported on Oct. 30.
‘Strong Message’
“I have never done anything wrong,” Malema said, according to Johannesburg’s Daily Sun newspaper on Oct. 31. The Youth League will cooperate with any investigation because “there is completely nothing wrong done on the part of the leadership,” it said in a statement on the same day.
The Youth League’s four other national leaders and spokesman Floyd Shivambu also face charges of misconduct. They will be present when the verdict is delivered publicly, according to an e-mailed statement yesterday. Malema won’t be there because he is taking exams at the University of South Africa in his northern hometown of Polokwane, the Youth League said, adding that the organization will comment once it has studied the verdict.
Malema and the other Youth League leaders have the right to appeal the ruling.
“A suspension is the most likely option,” Seepe said. “The suspension allows them to say we’re giving him a strong message, but also allows him to be rehabilitated.”
--With assistance from Stephen Gunnion in Johannesburg. Editors: Karl Maier, Nasreen Seria, Vernon Wessels
To contact the reporter on this story: Franz Wild in Johannesburg at fwild@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net
