The ANC will hold its National General Council in Boksburg this week amid rumours of a plot to remove President Cyril Ramaphosa. Here's what you need to know and what the direction of travel may be this week.

The National General Council (NGC) of the ANC runs from 8-12 December at the Birchwood Conference Centre in Boksburg. It is a mid-term assessment by the party between its national conferences. National conferences hold significant importance as electoral gatherings, whereas an NGC serves a different purpose: it assesses policy and evaluates the party's progress in fulfilling its resolutions.

However, NGCs have been a proxy for how well the party's president is doing and what the rank and file are thinking about the president's performance. At previous NGCs, it was possible to perceive the growing discontent surrounding former president Thabo Mbeki, signalling the emergence of the Jacob Zuma era.

Rumours of a plot against Ramaphosa

The Sunday World has, over the past few months, reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa could face a move to unseat him at the NGC, with Mbeki installed as a caretaker president. The publication said the resistance to Ramaphosa is led by two deputy ministers, Mondli Gungubele (Communications) and Joe Phaahla (Health).

It also reported that Ramaphosa stared down a rebellion by warning against it during a meeting of the party's National Executive Committee. Both Gungubele and Phaahla, who were demoted from full to deputy ministers...