Reports suggest the ANC's provincial structures remain divided on whether to discipline MPswho voted in favour of the latest motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma, the Business Day reported on Tuesday.
Roughly 34 ANC MPs are thought to have voted with the opposition in favour of removing Zuma during the vote in Parliament last week. At a rally on Sunday, Zuma reportedly expressed anger at the MPs who voted against him and said the issue would be tabled at the party's national working committee (NWC) meeting on Monday. The publication reported that it was unclear if this was discussed.
ANC MPs received support from an unlikely source on Monday in former police chief and NEC member Bheki Cele, who said they should not be disciplined. Instead, Cele said the MPs should be asked why they voted in the way they did, according to News24.
However, ANC leaders including police minister Fikile Mbalula, ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize and small businesses minister Lindiwe Zulu insist that they should be disciplined.
According to Business Day, the NWC meeting reportedly continued late into Monday night. It reported that Zuma's allies, KwaZulu-Natal party chairman Sihle Zikalala and the Free State chairman Ace Magashule said action should be taken against the MPs.
Meanwhile, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, which are seen as anti-Zuma provinces, reportedly urged the party not to engage in a "witch-hunt" against the MPs. Both chairpersons Stanley Mathabatha and David Mabuza released a joint statement urging the party to "restore organisational discipline" through engaging with its members.
Cosatu and the SACP both called for the ANC to focus on corruption and unity.
ANC presidential hopeful Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told a rally at the weekend that errant MPs could not be ignored, News24 reported.
"No-one is above the ANC and anyone who thinks they are above it has lost their consciousness," she told supporters in Alexandra.