ANC’s provincial task team to forge unity in KZN

THE ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is hoping to look beyond its factional battles and put on a united front as it prepares for next year’s national elections.

The chairperson of the suspended ANC provincial executive committee, Sihle Zikalala, said he was confident that the factions were on the right track to bury their differences for the sake of unity following yesterday’s announcement of the provincial task team (PTT).

The 16-member PTT, announced by ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule in Durban after a meeting between suspended PEC members and the national executive committee (NEC) representatives, will take over the operations of the provincial structure.

Zikalala, who has been appointed PTT co-ordinator, yesterday promised that leaders from both factions were hard at work trying to find solutions to their differences.

“I believe that we have all learnt from the divisions that have characterised the ANC since the provincial conference of 2015.

“For us it should not only be the matter of convening the provincial conference, but it should also be about ensuring unity, building structures and ensuring that the provincial conference is a smooth process,” he said.

Zikalala spoke to the media immediately after Magashule’s press briefing.

The aim of the PTT is to facilitate the rerun of the provincial conference, which according to Magashule should happen in either March or April.

The PTT, whose convener is pro-Senzo Mchunu former economic development MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu, is dominated by the pro-Zikalala faction with 11 members, while their opponents have five.

All five members of the provincial executive committee, which was suspended following the Pietermaritzburg High Court judgment, are represented in the PTT.

These include Zikalala’s deputy Willies Mchunu, provincial secretary Super Zuma, deputy provincial secretary Mluleki Ndobe and provincial treasurer Nomusa DubeNcube.

Provincial spokesperson Mdumiseni Ntuli’s name also appears on the list.

Prominent figures in Mchunu’s side include former agriculture MEC Cyril Xaba, former education MEC Peggy Nkonyeni and MPL Nhlakanipho Ntombela.

Spokesperson for Mchunu’s faction, Sthembiso Mshengu, had rejected the composition of the PTT, saying that it was a reflection of the PEC.

“It is a continuation of the old order,” he said.