Buoyed by the eThekwini regional elections victory, the ANC faction known as the Radical Economic Transformation (RET) are now hard at work hatching a plan to win the provincial elections in July.
Nkosentsha Shezi, one of the leading voices of the RET faction, said the plan was in motion to claim KwaZulu-Natal that which will solidify their comeback strategy.
“We can’t afford to rest on our laurels, the next assignment is to win the KwaZulu-Natal elective conference in July. With the ANC biggest region in the bag, the victory is certain,” said Shezi.
In what has been viewed as a blow to Cyril Ramaphosa’s bid to be re-elected as president of the party, corruption-accused and ANC provincial heavyweight Zandile Gumede emerged victorious as eThekwini regional chairperson.
The faction, aligned to former president Jacob Zuma and includes the likes of suspended party secretary-general Ace Magashule, also made a clean sweep claiming all the top five regional positions.
Gumede was elected in her absentia because of the step-aside rule, as well as incoming treasurer Nomthandazo Shabalala.
Both are linked to the controversial more than R300-million 2017 Durban Solid Waste tender that was awarded fraudulently. Gumede received 210 votes while her opponent council speaker Thabani Nyawose received 181 votes.
Nyawose is viewed as a Ramaphosa man.
eThekwini is ANC’s biggest voting bloc in the country, and the outcome of the conference influences both provincial and national conferences.
It was widely believed that Nyawose’s victory will boost premier Sihle Zikalala’s ambition to be re-elected as provincial chairperson in the upcoming July elective conference. The win would have also been crucial for Ramaphosa leading up to the party’s national conference in December.
Besides eThekwini, the RET forces have also exercised their dominance in other regional conferences. At the weekend, in one of the biggest regions, Harry Gwala, a slate linked to the faction also emerged.
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