Zuma endorses new ANC leader
Lungisa, former ANCYL deputy president, was confirmed new regional boss
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma jetted into Port Elizabeth where he endorsed newly-elected ANC Nelson Mandela Bay chairperson Andile Lungisa, saying the ancestors agreed with his election and that the will of the people should be respected.
Zuma visited the metro yesterday hours after Lungisa, the former ANC Youth League deputy president, was confirmed the new regional boss.
This came after the ANC councillor in the metro disregarded secretary-general Gwede Mantashe’s strongly-worded letter to withdraw from the leadership race.
Mantashe had written to party structures on Wednesday, advising them that the party’s constitution prohibited comrades serving in the provincial executive committee from contesting positions in lower structures.
Lungisa is seen as part of a grouping within the ANC that wants Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to succeed Zuma as ANC leader in December, and possibly the country in 2019.
Lungisa did not waste any time after his election to leap to Dlamini Zuma’s defence.
He called on the “liberal media” to report fairly on her and stop trying to “divide and ridicule ANC leaders”.
He also vowed to make the region, regarded as a former ANC stronghold, vibrant again and influential “when it comes to national politics”.
The new leadership that was elected during the three-day elective conference included Lungisa’s deputy Phumzile Tshuni, secretary Themba Xathula, deputy secretary Desiree Davids and treasurer Mbulelo Gidane.
It said it would foster unity among comrades and prioritise the fight against crime and gangsterism in the northern areas.
Lungisa also took pot shots at the DA-led coalition governing the Nelson Mandela Bay, saying they would formulate programmes, together with other black organisations, aimed at collapsing it because “our challenges are the same”.
That he had defied the ANC to contest his new position was an internal matter that would be dealt with internally, “it won’t be communicated with outsiders”.
Mantashe and ANC spokespeople Zizi Kodwa and Khusela Sangoni couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.