South Africa's ruling African National Congress is faced with three problems. Firstly, the feud between President Thabo Mbeki and Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Secondly, the "unseemly squabble" (to quote President Mbeki) between two ANC notables, Mr Saki Macozoma and Mr Jeff Rabede and thirdly, the disclosure that the Chief of the SA National Defence Force, Mr Siphiwe Nyanda, acquired a S320 Mercedes Benz at a hefty discount from the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, a beneficiary of South Africa's controversial R43.8 billion (£4 billion) arms deal.
The dispute between Mr Macozoma, a businessman and member of the ANC national executive committee, and Mr Radebe, the Minister of Public Enterprises, relates to the huge remuneration package of R232 million (£23 million) paid to Mr Coleman Andrews, from the US, after serving as CEO of SA Airways for little more than two years.
Mr Macozoma, who as managing director of the state-owned Transnet was mandated to negotiate the appointment of a CEO for the ailing airline, accused Mr Radebe of interfering in a business matter. Mr Radebe hit back, charging Mr Macozoma with acting unilaterally and breaching the rules of good corporate governance.
The ANC-dominated cabinet has adopted a forgiving stance, declaring that all parties "acted in good faith and in the interest of the national carrier".
The Democratic Alliance, the largest opposition party, reacted sharply. It accused the government of "trying to smooth off discrepancies" and of "showing no regard for corporate governance".
The friction between Mr Mbeki and Ms Madikizela has a long history. It has assumed serious proportions, however, following an episode at a rally in Soweto marking the 25th anniversary of the student uprising of 1976.
Ms Madikizela-Mandela arrived late at the rally, evoking cheers from the crowd but annoyance from ANC leaders on the podium. Ignoring attempts to usher her to her assigned seat, she marched onto the podium and bent down towards Mr Mbeki in an apparent attempt to kiss him on the cheek. He reacted irritably, lifting his arm to ward her off and knocking her hat off in the process.
Mr Mbeki was widely though not universally criticised for unbecoming behaviour for a head of state. Those who pointed fingers at Ms Madikizela-Mandela rather than Mr Mbeki including, after a three day silence, the ANC, accused the Women's League president of brazen attention-seeking and "tomfoolery".
The situation has since been aggravated by statements from both leaders, with Mr Mbeki condemning Ms Madikizela for engaging him in kissing on a solemn occasion and Ms Madikizela-Mandela boasting "I am the ANC".
The latest development on that front is that Deputy President Jacob Zuma has been mandated to investigate leadership disputes in the ANC, a brief which includes, the behaviour of Ms Madikizela-Mandela who seldom attends ANC executive meetings or occupies her seat in parliament.
The question observers are pondering is whether the ANC will finally confront Ms Madikizela-Mandela. The disclosure that Defence Force Chief Siphiwe Nyanda acquired a Mercedes from EADS at "a massive discount" has focused attention on the military.
On the face of it Mr Nyanda, who admitted that the bargain came his way because of his friendship with the MD of EADS, Mr Michael Woefe, put himself in a position where "he owed favours" to the arms manufacturer.
Opposition parties are watching to see whether the ANC will again adopt a forgiving attitude, as its members did in the parliamentary ethics committee when it considered the acquisition of another luxury car from the same company by the ANC parliamentary chief whip and former chairmen of the parliamentary defence committee, Mr Tony Yengeni.
Though Defence Force spokesmen have tried to present Mr Nyanda's behaviour as nothing out of the ordinary and the discount offered as "not a whopping bargain", Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota has disapproved of Mr Nyanda's acquisition. He told journalists he had taken a high-powered Mercedes for a test run but, on consideration, decided to reject the temptation and instead to opt for a no-discount BMW as his ministerial vehicle.
