Zuma laments division in surprise Amathole conference visit

IN WHAT is widely seen as an undisguised manoeuvre to bolster the Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma campaign for the ANC presidency, President Jacob Zuma also showed up unexpectedly at Mpekweni for the Amathole ANC regional conference.

The outcome of the Amathole and Port Elizabeth conferences will have a strong bearing on the direction of the provincial conference in July and the ANC’s December national elective conference, where a successor to Zuma will be named.

Registration for the Amathole conference only started yesterday morning instead of on Saturday, with national executive committee heavyweight Nosiviwe MapisaNqakula suggesting the delays had been caused by some provincial leaders attempting to hijack the direction of the conference.

“I have been to countless ANC conferences but have never seen a conference delayed by three days,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.

“We are held at ransom by individuals at the provincial office who want to influence directions of conferences, because disputes were addressed yesterday [Saturday].”

The Amathole regional secretary, Teris Ntuthu, has been clear in his support for the sitting provincial chairman, Phumulo Masualle, to run for a third term, and also in his support for Dlamini-Zuma as successor for the ANC presidency.

Zuma, too, lamented infighting and disunity within the ANC.

“We have a big responsibility to lead society instead of fighting among ourselves,” he said.

“We spend too much time jostling against each other. “I hope we are taking a turn now. “We are failing to tell our comrades when they go wrong, instead of stopping them in their tracks before it is too late and recalling them if they refuse to listen.”

Zuma also ruled out any possibility of his running for the party presidency, thanking party members for giving him the opportunity to serve two terms.

“Next year I will no longer be talking as the president of the ANC [but] I will not disappear,” he said.

“I will be in my branch and we will meet as delegates, and all gatherings of the ANC rest assured I will always be there.”

Masualle, meanwhile, arrived at Mpekweni where he gave the opening address.

The Amathole conference will continue today.