The former premier of South Africa's richest province resigned from the ruling African National Congress on Tuesday and said he would join a dissident group threatening to form a breakaway party. The creation of a splinter group would be the most serious division in the 96-year history of the ANC, which has ruled unchallenged since the end of apartheid in 1994, and would raise questions about the political direction of Africa's biggest economy.
Mbhazima Shilowa, who had stepped down as Gauteng premier in protest against the ANC's removal of former President Thabo Mbeki, told a news conference he would support the breakaway group led by former Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota. Shilowa, one of the ANC's most respected officials and a favourite among the business community, announced his decision two days after the party suspended Lekota for threatening to form a breakaway party.
As former premier of South Africa's financial and industrial heartland and home to the capital, Pretoria, Shilowa could add weight to the dissidents led by Lekota, although they still lacked expressions of support from any major party figures.
"I have decided to resign my membership from the ANC with immediate effect and to lend my support to the initiative by making myself available on a full-time basis as a convenor and volunteer-in-chief together with comrade Mosiuoa," he said. The dissidents have made a wide appeal to South Africans to attend a congress due on November 2 to discuss grievances against the ANC and plan future strategy.
"In the near term this might be seen as a cause for potential volatility because it alters the balance of power within the ANC at a time when markets are wondering if they do need to be concerned about policy uncertainty," said Razia Khan, regional head of Africa research at Standard Chartered bank. ANC leader Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday the party would crack down on dissent. The dissidents were "hell bent to destroy the ANC from within", said ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe.
The party's National Executive Committee is expected to hold a meeting shortly to discuss the rebellion. ANC spokeswoman Jessie Duarte told Reuters the party accepted Shilowa's resignation and "we wish him well in his new venture". Mbeki was forced out and replaced by Kgalema Motlanthe after a judge accused him of meddling in a corruption case against Zuma. Motlanthe is expected to step down after next year's elections and Zuma to take over as president. Although the ANC is facing the worst crisis in its history, foreign investors are mostly concerned with how the new leadership will manage the economy.
Investors are worried that Zuma and Motlanthe, strongly backed by the Communist Party and powerful trade unions, may tilt South Africa to the left. If Shilowa emerges as a leading figure in a breakaway party, he may stick to the same policies that won Mbeki praise from investors. Shilowa said he would not push for a major change in economic direction.
It is not clear how much support former ANC chairman Lekota has, although he has said hundreds of local party supporters have resigned and regional and provincial ANC branches are contemplating leaving the party. Shilowa said forming a new party could be difficult. "If you are going to form a political party, there's no short cut.