ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has some harsh decisions to make – and the new NEC seems an extra headache for him.
“As the NDZ faction didn’t do well with the top six, they turned to the NEC,” said political analyst Ralph Mathekga.
“This is a fight back.
“If Ramaphosa doesn’t apply their radical economic transformation, they will be tough on him.”
Of the top six, three are Jacob Zuma loyalists and two have links to him.
Some serving cabinet ministers didn’t make the NEC list and have to be dropped, including the SACP’s general-secretary Blade Nzimande and chairman Senzeni Zokwana.
Sports Minister Thulas Nxesi also didn’t make it, while Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini and Public Service Minister Faith Muthambi did.
Thirty-eight NEC members elected in 2012 didn’t make it.
Gracious in his early morning victory speech yesterday, Ramaphosa paid tribute to Zuma despite his failures.
He preached unity and talked tough on corruption.
Ramaphosa acknowledged that branch delegates weren’t all from the same slate and said this was a clear message they had turned their back on slate politics, and said it would produce unity.
He stressed the need to deal with state capture where the top six are implicated.
“Whether we call this state capture or corruption, this has undermined the integrity of our institutions, cost our economy hundreds of billions and contributed to the impoverishment of our people.”