ANC members in KZN urged to ‘rally behind a single candidate’

THE ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has been urged to rally behind one candidate as branch support shows divisions between those who are backing Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, while others are rallying behind Dr Zweli Mkhize.

This as the regional executive committee of the powerful eThekwini region announced its support for Mkhize as party president and ANC treasurer Paul Mashatile as his deputy ahead of the party’s national elective conference in December.

The eThekwini pronouncement comes as branches in the province look to finalise their nominations for NEC leaders at branch general meetings to be held this weekend.

ANC insiders say it is crucial that the party rallies behind a single candidate and that intense lobbying with other provinces starts as soon as possible to garner support for that particular candidate.

While eThekwini region has endorsed Mkhize, ward 32 this week openly declared its support for Dlamini Zuma, saying they were confident that she could bring the change envisioned by others in the province.

Her supporters say that she has been told that other branches in eThekwini and the rest of the province will give her their support.

“She also has support of branches and regions in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape. Watch the OR Tambo region as she will emerge as the preferred candidate,” a lobbyist for Dlamini Zuma said.

EThekwini regional executive committee spokesperson Mondli Mkhize said that they had convened a meeting of chairs and secretaries who had agreed on the names of Mkhize as future president and Mashatile as deputy president.

The meeting, dubbed the “festival of ideas”, felt that there was a strong public perception that the ANC, as a governing party, no longer focused on the real issues of service delivery and improving the lives of the people, said Mkhize.

“Critically, the festival agreed that a new president and new deputy president are needed to refocus the ANC and ultimately change the future of South Africa.

“For other positions, the REC will engage other regions as guided by the ANC provincial executive committee (PEC).”