MK vets pick Dlamini-Zuma amid bickering
Zuma backers slammed for ‘hijacking’ ANC military veterans’ elective conference
The Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) has decided that Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma should succeed President Jacob Zuma.
This was revealed by its chairman Kebby Maphatsoe, who spoke to Sowetan yesterday on the sidelines of the MKMVA 5th elective national conference at Birchwood Hotel, Ekurhuleni, at the weekend.
“Branches of the ANC are the ones who are going to decide who becomes president
‘‘ It’s unfortunate other comrades are saying the ANC will lose power in 2019
of the ANC. We respect comrade Cyril Ramaphosa as one of the leaders of the ANC, but our preference as MKMVA has always been comrade Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma,” Maphatsoe said.
“We are confident that the branches of the ANC will elect comrade Dlamini-Zuma as the president of the ANC.
“Obviously, conferences come with tensions because there are those who will not be happy after the conference and we have to address that. It’s unfortunate that some of our comrades are saying the ANC will lose power in 2019,” he said.
The ANC national executive committee (NEC) has agreed that members can discuss the succession plan but cannot discuss names. The names would be discussed in September and the ANC elective conference is in December.
These remarks follow a division within the MKMVA – a key ally of Zuma. Some members boycotted Zuma’s keynote address on Friday.
Those members are former MKMVA deputy chairman Teenage Monama, former general secretary Dumisani Nduli, former deputy general secretary Tshidiso Paka and NEC member Ike Moroe, who snubbed what they called an “unconstitutional conference” to elect new leadership.
Maphatsoe was re-elected along with deputy chairman Taylor Nsimbini, who replaced Monama, general secretary Wiseman Ntombela, who replaced Nduli, first deputy general secretary Nono Mophiti, who replaced Paka and second deputy general secretary Jan Rametse.
Zuma’s critics within the MKMVA wanted the elective conference to be canned, but it went ahead.
Those who called for the canning of the conference were the MK Veterans National Council, led by former head of the South African National Defence Force Siphiwe
Nyanda.
Last week, Nyanda labelled the MKMVA conference as a means to sow further divisions within the ANC.
Maphatsoe claimed there was a regime change agenda which was highly funded. He said some ANC members were part of that regime change, which he said explained the perception that the ANC would lose the 2019 elections.