South Africa:President Mbeki warned the conference of the 'virus' of corruption, Joe Humphreysreports.
President Thabo Mbeki has launched a last-ditch bid to wrest control of South Africa's ruling party from what he called the "virus" of corruption.
In a thinly-veiled attack on his chief political rival, Jacob Zuma, Mr Mbeki said the African National Congress (ANC) should guard against "people who abuse their positions ... to engage in corrupt practices aimed at self-enrichment".
He was addressing party delegates as they prepared to vote on which of the two politicians should lead the former anti-apartheid movement for the next five years.
A result is expected on Tuesday or Wednesday, with polls pointing to a resounding victory for Mr Zuma, whom the president sacked from government in 2005 over bribery allegations.
If he becomes leader of the ANC, Mr Zuma would be in pole position to replace Mr Mbeki as president of South Africa when the latter leaves office in 2009 after completing two terms - the maximum allowed under the constitution.
Warning delegates that their decision would have widespread implications for the country, Mr Mbeki said there should be a rational debate about "what divides us".
But his plea for cool heads fell on deaf ears as supporters of Mr Zuma staged a near-mutiny of the conference by shouting down its chairman and roundly booing cabinet ministers when they appeared on stage.
In a recorded message broadcast to delegates who gathered at a university campus near Polokwane, in the northern province of Limpopo, former president Nelson Mandela said he was saddened "to see and hear of the nature and differences currently in the organisation".
Other senior members of the party expressed dismay at yesterday's events, as well as fear over the direction in which the ANC was going.
"The nature of the ANC, and the values of the ANC, are changing. It's not the same party as before," said Prof Kader Asmal, former head of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement and an outgoing member of the party's National Executive Committee (NEC).
On several occasions yesterday, ANC general secretary Kgalema Motlanthe, one of the few unifying figures in the party, was called to the podium to restore order.
But not even he could stop Mr Zuma's supporters from disrupting proceedings.
As well as displaying partisan posters, which were banned under conference rules, Mr Zuma's backers triumphantly chanted his trademark song "Awuleth' uMshini Wami (Bring me my machine gun)".
Mr Mothlante eventually gave up and allowed delegates to deliver their own straw poll on the leadership race.
"Viva Thabo Mbeki," he cried. "Viva," the crowd replied, respectfully.
"Viva comrade JZ," he said. The cheers that followed the second declaration were deafening. "Zuma siya kuthanda (Zuma we love you)" was one of many chants that rang out.
There was no evidence yesterday of a compromise candidate emerging, with Cyril Ramaphosa, once mooted at a possible contender, keeping a very low profile.
Prof Asmal, who had broken party ranks by proposing the businessman and former Northern Ireland weapons inspector for the job, said:
"He [Mr Ramaphosa] is like a frail virgin. He is afraid to take the plunge."
Prof Asmal, who after 15 years in the NEC has decided to step down from the ANC's highest body, added: "What is going on now in the party goes against my own grain, and is very alien to the tradition of the ANC. I am devastated - for the reasons the president gave in his address."
Mr Mbeki cited a new breed of careerism in the ANC, where "members become voting fodder to serve individuals' self-interest".
He also condemned what he depicted as a smear campaign against the presidency, saying claims to the effect that the government was intolerant of dissent or abusing state power were "entirely false".
The conference ends on Thursday with an address from the newly-elected president.