KZN puts unity slate for new leaders first
Zuma and Ramaphosa allies smoke peace pipe
The election of young people from both ANC factions in KwaZulu-Natal into provincial leadership positions will unite the province.
This is according to newly elected provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli.
The unity slate, which was elected by 1769 voting delegates, ensured that former chairman Sihle Zikalala, a once staunch supporter of former president Jacob Zuma, was re-elected into his position uncontested.
However, Zuma’s grip on the province is at its all-time low after he suffered a huge blow as his right-hand man Super Zuma did not make the top five.
Convenor of the provincial task team Mike Mabuyakhulu, who was responsible for overseeing the conference, was elected as deputy chairman – beating Willies Mchunu who is also a Zuma ally.
Mabuyakhulu was spearheading President Cyril Ramaphosa’s campaign for the party’s national conference in December.
Ntuli told Sowetan yesterday the newly elected leadership can be defined as inclusive, as members who were in the former provincial executive committee were brought back and it also included those who were not part of the previous detachment.
“The entire generation of the graduates of the ANC Youth League supported by the senior cadres in our province said we should elect the chairperson [Zikalala] and that was a sign of unity,” said Ntuli.
“Nobody should be fearful about the fact that he supported comrade NDZ [Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma] because how we have understood the importance to transcend the differences of Nasrec is how we were able to constitute the regional executive committees in various regions.”
Ntuli was going head-to-head with Super Zuma.
Sipho Hlomuka was elected deputy secretary and Nomusa Dube-Ncube treasurer.
While others criticised the election of Zikalala, Ntuli defended his election, saying that those who know Zikalala very well should be in a position to understand that “he’s not factional”.
Ntuli said their immediate task would be to ensure that they go out guns blazing at the 2019 general elections and go into the 2022 ANC national elective conference united.