ANC Gauteng provincial task team (PTT) coordinator Hope Papo says it is not guaranteed that he will throw his weight behind Deputy President Paul Mashatile for the ANC presidency in 2027.
Papo said the fact that he has worked with Mashatile in the ANC Gauteng PEC and again became his parliamentary counsellor in the National Assembly does not come with any guarantees.
Papo spoke to Sunday World Engage this week on the back of murmurs in political circles that he would use his position to Mashatile’s advantage over other presidential contenders ahead of the 2027 national conference of the ANC.
He said the thought of 2027 has not even crossed his mind yet, as he is currently seized with the immediate task of rebuilding and strengthening the ANC in Gauteng as mandated by the ANC national executive committee (NEC) that decided to reconfigure the party’s leadership in the province.
“I have got an opinion, which I will express with my branch, on who I want to be in a particular position. It is not automatic that because I served with somebody in a particular structure, therefore, I must support them,” said Papo.
“I have a branch I belong to, where I will participate in the nomination. I do not participate in these other forums that are not organisational; such forums are very disruptive.
“People must express themselves about who must lead the ANC at various levels in their branches, not some informal meetings that undermine the official structures of the organisation,” he went on.
“Anybody who thinks I am going to support somebody because I served with them are mistaken. I will express my opinions in my branch about leadership when the nominations open.”
Papo denounced the scheming for leadership positions in the so-called “caucuses”, unofficial forums that shape the succession race. According to him, the ANC’s enforced organisational renewal should eradicate such “disruptive” forums.
Papo is of the firm opinion that discussing 2027 now is ill-advised, especially considering the upcoming local government elections next year.
“It is very premature to start talking about the 2027 national conference because we have been given responsibility by the last national conference in 2022 to rebuild the organisation, renew it, and improve governance; that is the focus.
“So those who talk about 2027, what is the purpose of that when we have these big challenges of uniting, rebuilding, renewing and strengthening the organisation? When we have reclaimed lost ground and are done with that task, we can talk about leadership,
and sometimes we will have consensus.
“But when people do not do organisational work, they tend to focus on things that are not important in the agenda of the organisation; the leadership is the last issue when we have done the work.
“In the process of working, we identify the strengths and weaknesses of each other, and then leadership emerges; leadership must emerge out of the work we would have done to rebuild the organisation.”
Papo added that he believes that those like him who have been appointed to lead the PTTs in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal should not avail themselves for election when the two provinces have provincial conferences.
That would include Gauteng co-convenor Amos Masondo as well as convenor in KwaZulu-Natal Jeff Radebe and coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu.
“I cannot have a view that if I am not in leadership, the ANC should not exist.
“I think it would be incorrect to be in the PTT, and your aim is to stand for the next elections. All of us who have been appointed have served before, so our focus should not be about being elected to leadership positions.”
