Saturday Star

Gauteng ANC not backing Makhura to replace Gwede

- BALDWIN NDABA

THE Gauteng ANC has responded to Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula’s plan to drum up support for Gauteng Premier David Makhura to replace Gwede Mantashe as ANC secretary-general with a polite “thanks, but no thanks”. Gauteng ANC spokespers­on Motalatale Modiba said Makhura was not available for any of the ANC top six positions at its elective national conference in December. “Makhura remains very determined to focus on serving the people of Gauteng up to the end of his term as premier in 2019,” Modiba said. The reaction of Gauteng’s ANC came after Mbalula set tongues wagging with his choice of Makhura over the ANC Youth League’s selection of Free State Premier Ace Magashule to be the next secretary general in December when Mantashe steps down. Mbalula wrote: “Makhura has all the ingredient­s you like in a good leader.” He was critical of the ANCYL’s choice. “Ace Magashule is a definite no-no. The man will finish what is remaining of our movement. He will kill it.”

His views about the Free State premier did not go down well with Thanduxolo Sabelo, provincial secretary of the ANC Youth League in KwaZulu-Natal, who said: “Ace is us.” Mbalula went to ground when his followers on Twitter asked him about whether he would choose Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma over Cyril Ramaphosa for the position of ANC president in December. The majority of Mbalula followers who are part of his 791 000 followers agrees with his nomination of Makhura. Some of those who endorsed his choice included public servants in the Gauteng provincial government. Glen Dukes, a Mbalula follower, endorsed Makhura but raised a concern saying “Mahlobo’s dog to dig dirt on him”, in apparent reference to Minister of State Security David Mahlobo. Others supported Mbalula’s rejection of Magashule describing him as “a family friend of Zuma and the Gupta f amily”. But Bronny Chake warned Mbalula, saying: “The Guptas will fire U b4 3 weeks for lobbying for other people other than those chosen by the ANC Youth League.”

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