Zuma support solid ahead of key meeting
More members from provinces that favour him at national general council
AS THE African National Congress (ANC) begins its midterm review at its national general council meeting today, President Jacob Zuma will preside over an organisation over which he has consolidated his hold, despite falling ANC support in last year’s election, an ailing economy and a series of personal scandals that have marked his presidency.
The national general council conference being held in Johannesburg, evaluates the progress made by the party and government in implementing ANC resolutions, is its second-most important gathering and enables delegates from branches to reflect on the performance of their leaders in government.
But judging from the proportional representation allocated to provinces, as well as the mood of delegates and issues up for discussion, Mr Zuma can be assured of a rousing affirmation of his leadership.
Mr Zuma’s political report, which he delivers today, will set the tone for the conference.
While the council is not a voting forum, delegates are allocated according to the size of ANC membership. A comparison of the provincial allocations with the 2012 conference in Mangaung, shows strong growth in some of the provinces that are strongly aligned to Mr Zuma and a decline in those known to oppose him. For instance, North West and Mpumalanga increased their share of delegates, although two others that are part of his core support base — the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal — now hold a smaller share. Gauteng and Limpopo, where the strongest opposition to Mr Zuma lies, show declines.
But the numbers cannot be interpreted as an indicator of strength as most provinces will attempt further recruiting ahead of the 2017 conference.
ANC officials have been at pains in recent days to emphasise that the council will not discuss leadership succession.
Secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said while some delegates might discuss this infor- mally, “there is no voting here”.
However, leadership succession and the ANC’s 2017 national conference will be an undercurrent, with delegates looking for other ways — through the
loudness of their cheering and songs — to show their support for prospective contenders.
The agenda for the council is extensive and includes commissions on all areas of government work from the economy to international relations.
But among these the key issue, said Mr Mantashe yesterday, would be dealing with factionalism. A showdown is expected between the South African Communist Party (SACP) and a faction dubbed “the Premier league”, said to consist of the premiers of the Free State, Mpumalanga and the North West.
They stand accused of fixing elections at the recent congresses of the ANC Women’s League and Youth League. A war of words between the ANC in these provinces and the SACP have set the stage for a confrontation at the council.
How Mr Zuma responds to the dissatisfaction with the Premier league will be key to his relationship with the SACP in the future.
Previous council meetings have seen intense debate over policy issues, in particular the economy. While the council cannot change policy, it can signal that change is required and ensure that the matter is put onto the agenda of the ANC policy conference, which precedes the national conference.
Debate is not expected to be as contentious as in the past, with both the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the Youth League less vociferous than before. One of the contentious issues is the future of state-owned enterprises.
Yesterday chairman of the economic transformation committee, Enoch Godongwana, indicated that private sector participation in state-owned companies remained on the government’s agenda.
This was not “a debate on privatisation” he said, but “a question of whether given (the weakness) of Eskom’s balance sheet, it could work with the private sector to strengthen it”.
“This is the key question rather than an obsession about privatisation,” he said.
In anticipation, Cosatu released a statement on Wednesday, condemning privatisation.
This is the key question rather than an obsession about privatisation