The ruling African National Congress's National General Council (NGC) meeting recently, showed strong support for sacked deputy president Zuma, restoring him to his official duties as deputy president of the ANC. But the message is beginning to sink in within the ANC Alliance that the sacking is a clampdown on corruption in the South African government, rather than a political conspiracy against Jacob Zuma as a first stage, with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) the next targets, as the Zuma camp has portrayed the process.

Those who are sceptical about the Zuma camp's theory point out that the former vice president started wooing Cosatu and the SACP only when allegations of impropriety against him first surfaced five years ago. They argue that the ANC Alliance as a whole should unite around the government in support of the difficult decisions it sometimes has to take against comrades.

But at the NGC meeting, that viewpoint was in the minority, with populism rampant and Zuma triumphant. Some delegates, however, warned of the possibility of a process of "Zanufication" in the ANC, which glorifies liberation war heroes despite allegations of graft against them, thus undermining the rule of law.

Zuma was not the only point of agreement at the ANC's policy meeting. Some delegates sang songs denouncing capitalism and blaming it for Zuma's downfall; they rejected most of the government's policy change proposals, and expressed concern about events in Zimbabwe.

The defeat of President Mbeki's policy positions and proposals sparked a debate about who should make government policy: government or the ANC? Government argues that it has the mandate and the technical expertise, but the membership of the ANC obviously feels that it has been left out of decision-making and that needs to change.

In the event delegates rejected a proposal to restructure the ANC and make it a modern, social democratic party. Instead they reaffirmed its status as a liberation movement, which is seen as the basis of the alliance with the Communist Party and Cosatu. They also emphatically rejected a proposal to introduce more flexible labour laws with lower wages for young workers and greater possibilities for firing workers. The left's hand was considerably strengthened at the conference by Cosatu's massive strike against job losses held provocatively just ahead of the meeting and on the same day as government's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Charter.

But the deputy finance minister said after the meeting that he would continue exploring the area of labour law reform, while Mbeki spoke about the need to maintain the exchange rate of the rand despite the decision calling for it to be devalued in order to save jobs, a clear indication that the disagreement about who should make policy was not resolved.

In the meantime, Zuma has now been formally charged to court, at his own request, and the battle is on to clear his name. Many believe he will succeed, and that he will do so in time to win the presidency of the ANC in 2007 and possibly that of the country too. His chances of clearing his name have been strengthened by the offer by Judge Willem Heath to advise his defence team, a move the state has been resisting. Heath used to head a special investigating unit which looked into the arms deal linked to the Zuma case. He appears to believe that Zuma and Schaik were wronged by the way the state proceeded against them.

In a television interview immediately after the ANC policy conference, President Mbeki set the cat among the pigeons by declaring he may stand for a third term as ANC president, although he ruled out any possibility of standing for a third term as state president. This could pit him against Zuma for the ANC presidency, which has added to the current tensions around the stand-off between the two leaders and their supporters. The influential ANC Youth League is split following its president's public statement backing Zuma and opposing Mbeki's candidature for 2007, when the ANC will choose its next president at its congress. Fikile Mbalula argues that two centres of power will weaken the country, thus the ANC president should also be state president.

For the moment, Mbeki is arguing that the focus should now be on delivery to the poor, not on who is going to do what job in 2007. Township demonstrations continue, although the numbers involved are often small. Finance minister Trevor Manuel, however, has warned his party and the nation against complacency, saying that a few discontented people and a pile of tyres are enough to cause trouble, which could escalate.

There are signs that government may be losing faith in the ability of market forces to deliver to the poor and may be looking to the ANC's socialist-oriented principles outlined in the Freedom Charter for new thinking. Judging by the ANC's National General Council's meeting, that would be very popular within the party. It could provide the key to resolving current crises over delivery to the poor, the conflict over Zuma, economic policy and other issues threatening the ANC's alliance with the trade unions and communists.

With acknowledgements to Africa Today.