Intense last-minute lobbying and jockeying for ANC top six positions has set the stage for a bruising battle between the supporters of President Cyril Ramaphosa and the party’s acting secretary general Paul Mashatile as the battle for the soul of the ANC reached fever pitch.
While most focus was for a long while on the race for the ANC presidency between Ramaphosa and former health minister Zweli Mkhize, the move by Ramaphosa’s backers to drop water and sanitation minister Senzo Mchunu as deputy president candidate and replace him with ANC Eastern Cape chairperson Oscar Mabuyane has changed dynamics in the leadership race.
The dropping of Mchunu, which happened on Friday night, was interpreted as a direct challenge to Mashatile, who emerged as a front runner at the conclusion of nomination for top six positions.
The water and sanitation minister, a former KwaZulu-Natal premier, was seen as a weaker opponent to Mashatile. However, suspicion that Mchunu might win the position of the ANC deputy presidency on the back of support from KwaZulu-Natal resulted in Ramaphosa’s inner circle deciding to field a candidate to contest for the party’s second most powerful position.
A member of the Ramaphosa caucus said they could not afford to have KZN being the driving force behind Mchunu’s ascendency to the position of deputy president. “Remember these ones are going to pressurise Senzo to frustrate Cyril. We don’t want this ‘home boy’ mentality.
“The biggest problem of the leadership of KZN is their hatred for Mdumiseni Ntuli, who has been riding on the support of Gauteng. They are realising that Mdu is emerging as SG and Zweli might not make it,” the leader said. “Their fear (KZN leadership) is that like Mdu, the province might end up with no one in the top six,” he added.
Ntuli, who is a former KZN provincial secretary, is leading the race to succeed suspended ANC secretary general Ace Magashule.
The provincial executive committee that Ntuli led with former KZN chairperson Sihle Zikalala failed to secure a top six position in the leadership of the ANC that was voted in at the 2017 elective conference.
Another member in Ramaphosa’s camp said Mabuyane had always wanted to settle a score with Mashatile.
Mabuyane is said to believe that Mashatile worked closely with Babalo Madikizela, who challenged him for the provincial chairperson position.
The actions of Ramaphosa’s inner circle, which is dominated by cabinet ministers and former trade unionists, caused a stir in both the Mashatile campaign and the president’s general support, raising the spectre of a three-horse race for the party presidency.
While some in Mashatile’s campaign wanted him to join forces with Mkhize and accept nomination from the floor and face off with Ramaphosa, others were against the idea. Ramaphosa’s inner circle was also pushing for a major cabinet
reshuffle should Ramaphosa win the second term as party president. Those targeted in the national executive include ministers and presidential hopefuls Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Lindiwe Sisulu.
Dlamini-Zuma voted with opposition parties in the National Assembly for the adoption of an independent panel report into the Phala Phala saga.
A key lobbyist in Mashatile’s campaign said Ramaphosa’s inner circle was causing unnecessary problems for the president.
They are believed to be pushing for national chairperson Gwede Mantashe to return to his position, while the majority of Ramaphosa’s supporters have nominated Limpopo chairperson Stan Mathabatha.
“Remember TG (Mashatile) has made it clear that he does not want to fight with the president. Gauteng is clear that it is Paul or nothing. You are going to have a situation where Paul’s supporters withdraw their support for CR,” the campaign member said.
At the time of going to press yesterday, nominations for the national executive committee and top six positions (officials) were set to take place. It was expected that voting would go into the night.
Ramaphosa’s detractors used the first day of the conference to publicly boo him when he was delivering the political report on Friday. The political opponents, mostly from the KZN delegation, which is supporting Mkhize, were said to be intensifying the battle on other fronts, including pushing back against the step-aside rule and packing the NEC with their allies.
SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila told Sunday World that the outcomes of the ANC conference would be used to decide whether the communist party should contest elections in 2024.
“We want this conference to focus significantly on the proper economic resolutions that can respond to the dire situation that our people and the working class are left in perpetual poverty.
“The question of the reconfiguration of the alliance comes into effect because when the ANC is blamed, we are equally blamed. Therefore, that is why we are saying we cannot take it anymore as the SACP.
“We want an ANC that is clear about the issues facing the country and committed to resolving those issues and working together with its allies.”
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