Frontrunners’ Mopani tussle

The two frontrunners in the race for the presidency of the ANC, former African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana DlaminiZuma and ANC and state Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, will go all out this weekend to win support from the province’s biggest political region, Mopani.

A total of 262 delegates will attend the region’s conference from tomorrow until Sunday. The conference will play a crucial role in the decision about which candidate gets the overall provincial nod. A preliminary adoption of credentials indicates Dlamini-Zuma has the edge.

The region's elective conference has been postponed three times following allegations of ghost members involving 21 branches.

The contest for senior positions would be between current party regional chairperson and economic development MEC Seaparo Charles Sekoati and political activist and mayor for the mining municipality of Phalaborwa Pule Shayi.

Current party regional secretary Baisekopo Makamu takes on construction mogul and communication fundi Tseko Mosoloa for the post of party regional secretary.

But the much talked about conference will not be without controversy.

The Citizen was reliably informed that a faction is threatening to boycott the conference over the ghost membership allegations.

If the boycott goes ahead, the conference might be postponed for the fourth time this year.