Intense lobbying and contestation have ensued over the influential position of ANC eThekwini chairperson, among one of the party’s largest regions in the country with 111 branches.
This paper understands that Thabani Nyawose, the eThekwini metro speaker, is in pole position to succeed controversial ANC senior provincial leader Zandile Gumede.
The battle for regional leadership has always been a bruising affair, with various party factions vying for control of what is known as the jewel crown and economic heart of the province. As a result, the winning faction always indirectly shapes the policy positions of the municipality, which is the only metro in KwaZulu-Natal ( KZN).
Most importantly, the winning faction controls the metro’s budget, which amounts to almost R70-billion. It has also been the ANC’s unwritten rule that the head of the structure becomes mayor, a culture that has been evolving over the years.
When questioned by Sunday World, Nyawose said, “Yes, branches have approached me, and I have availed myself to contest the position of chairperson.”
The SACP, a crucial ally of the ANC, is believed to support the 48-year-old Nyawose, among others. In the last watershed regional contest, Nyawose narrowly lost to Gumede. He is a known ANC activist, having served as an ANC councillor in 1996 before heading the metro’s hostel unit. His family in his ancestral home of Ezonqoleni, under the Ugu district was among those targeted by what became known as the KwaShobashobane massacre. The attack took place in 1995, when about 600 people dressed in IFP regalia went on a killing spree, attacking ANC members and torching their homes, leading to the deaths of the governing part’s 19 supporters. Nyawose himself has not been spared the rod of political thuggery, having survived a hit on his life.
Khulekani Masinga, one of Nyawose’s lobbyists, explains that unlike the watershed 2022 elective conference, the conditions were different.
“Of course, in the last elections, the atmosphere was tense, and a massive campaign was unleashed to decampaign comrade Nyawose. He was accused of being a ‘CR’ (President Cyril Ramaphosa) man, which was a pure lie. But we are pleased to say that the majority of branches we have spoken to, unanimously agreed that he is the man to bring the region back to its glory days.”
Nyawose was among the ANC leaders who openly supported Ramaphosa’s call for unity and renewal, pitting him against those aligned with former president Jacob Zuma.
Gumede, the former mayor of eThekwini, succeeded SACP KZN chairperson James Nxumalo in the divisive conference in 2015. They had to repeat the conference twice because of deadly skirmishes and Gumede’s faction’s refusal to accept Nxumalo’s victory.
After becoming mayor, Gumede aggressively advocated for the so-called radical economic transformation, prioritising mostly black-owned enterprises connected to the political elite for lucrative municipal contracts. She eventually faced numerous charges and resigned from her position as mayor due to accusations that she was responsible for the theft of millions of rands from the metro through the waste collection tender.
ANC KZN spokesperson Mafika Mndebele explained that the party had yet to entertain the question of the eThekwini ANC conference.
“As you know, the party has been busy solidifying relations in the government of provincial unity. The matter of eThekwini has not arisen,” he said.
Sunday World understands the party’s national working committee is mandated to conduct day-to-day party work in the province, where the head of elections will give an assessment of how the party fared during the May elections. The party’s electoral support plummeted from 54% to just 17%. Among the other names thrown into the hat are Nkosenhle Madlala, the eThekwini chairperson of the governance committee, and former KZN ANCYL leader Thanduxolo Sabelo.
