ANC unity ‘be damned’
Mchunu supporters demand election rerun
SUPPORTERS of KwaZuluNatal Premier Senzo Mchunu are demanding a rerun of the ballot that saw him lose the leadership of the ANC in the province last weekend, claiming irregularities.
Mchunu’s camp has also rejected appeals for party unity by newly elected ANC provincial leader, Sihle Zikalala. The disgruntled have further turned on national ANC leaders, including President Jacob Zuma, accusing them of colluding with Zikalala to ensure his victory.
Zikalala drew 789 votes to Mchunu’s 675 in a battle to become ANC chairman, provoking a backlash from the loser’s side which has until today to submit its objections to the ANC’s national leadership.
“Our tolerance has been provoked. The conference was a complete sham,” said one senior ANC insider and key Mchunu campaigner.
“Credentials were not adopted, which means they did not verify the number of delegates before the start of the conference to ensure they had the correct number of ballot forms – which is a violation of conference procedures, as it allows for the printing of more forms than needed.
“Other areas of objection include duplicate name tags which we discovered bearing the names of some of Mchunu’s delegates and our concerns were dismissed when we tried to question this. We don’t care a damn about party unity anymore, they have broken us with what they did at the conference,” the delegate said.
“We have sent our objections to ANC secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, and will be mobilising for Zuma to go because we feel he was also behind this manipulation to ensure Zikalala wins.”
However, ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) member, Joe Phaahla, one of four NEC members overseeing the conference, rejected claims of irregularities. “NEC members were present to ensure the smooth running of the conference and I stand by my statements on it being free and fair.
“The programme of the conference, which is reportedly among their objections, was also approved by the Provincial Execu- tive Committee at the conference. We would like members to respect the results and move on from this.
“However, the ANC is a democratic organisation and members are welcome to submit their concerns or objections to the party,” Phaahla told the Daily News.
In another development, representatives from the taxi industry and black business, under the umbrella body, Imbumba Group, have also voiced their concerns at the tussle, saying the infighting was sending disastrous signals to potential investors in KZN.
“We are going back to the days of factionalism, of ANC vs IFP which destroyed the fabric of our society as black people in this province,” said Imbumba leader, Wiseman Mkhize.
“Just when we thought we were building bridges and advancing economic opportunities, we now have a situation where there is still infighting and we are saying enough is enough. We don’t want to go back to those days of factionalism.
“We have a leadership failing to recognise ordinary people, where even trying to get an appointment one has to wait six months for a slot. We needed the change and people must respect the outcome of the conference and allow the new leadership to focus on issues that need their time and energy,” Mkhize said.
With the provincial ANC confronted by disunity, the DA has quietly been capitalising on the divisions, describing them as a positive for the DA.
“There was a time when ANC strongholds in the province would have been no-go areas for the DA,” said provincial DA leader, Zwakele Mncwango. “Halls that we booked to address communities would be booked out to the ANC at the last minute, or their supporters would block our entrance to such areas.
“But, every weekend I have been visiting ANC strongholds and have been welcomed by these communities which tells us that while the ANC is busy fighting among themselves, we are gaining traction on their support base which is good for us.
“And if they want a rerun of the conference, it means dragging their division on for a good few months, which will put us in an even better position in next year’s local election,” Mncwango said.
In response, Zikalala repeated his call for party unity. Mchunu did not respond to requests for comment.
HE name “Super” could suggest something about body weight, but it is not the case with the newly-elected ANC KwaZulu-Natal secretary.
Born Bhekokwakhe Madesius Zuma, the secretary earned his nickname, “Super”, when he was an infant.
When asked about the nickname, Zuma bursts into laughter before pausing.
“It’s a long story. My aunt gave me that name,” he says before laughing again.
“When I was born, there was a lotion called Super Rose lotion. They say I was beautiful so they reckoned that my mother was applying the Super Rose lotion to moisturise my face,” Zuma said.
“Then my aunt called me Super and everyone else calls me such till this day,” he says, bursting into laughter again.
Zuma beat MPL Nhakanipho Ntombela in a provincial contest held in Pietermaritzburg at the weekend to take the position previously occupied by the new party chairman, Sihle Zikalala.
Born in 1962 in Mpendle, Zuma was brought up by illiterate parents, Maliba and Nokuvuma. But they believed in the power of education.
“My parents would sell their cattle for me to continue with my studies,” Zuma said.
“I was good at maths and science at high school, but I switched. It was when I joined the union that I realised I was clued up on legal issues, but I could not go to a formal institution for legal training,” he says.
Zuma, who until the weekend was the ANC’s Moses Mabhida regional chairman after earlier serving as regional secretary, said his political awakening was sparked by “harsh realities” while growing up.
“At the time there was no electricity and water in Mpendle. My father organised the locals to have spring water for the community,” he said as he recalls his father as a “respected community leader”.
He said a strike at a rubber factory in Howick, where one of his cousins worked, played a crucial role in his political consciousness.
“I would get on to the bus on my way to my aunt’s place, the workers would be singing revolutionary songs.”
But Zuma is quick to credit his father for planting in him leadership qualities.
Before his death in 1984, Zuma senior called together his four sons. He allocated sites near the family homestead to his two eldest sons.
Zuma, as the third-eldest son, and his younger brother, were left with the responsibility of occupying the family’s homestead.
“He said if we disagreed, he would allocate my younger brother his own place, but I had to remain at the homestead.
“What happened is that all (my brothers) died and I am the only surviving son,” he said, adding that his two sisters were still alive.
Zuma said under cultural practices, it is the eldest son who is allowed to stay at the homestead should the father die.
“When he died they (his brothers) could not do anything in my absence. They had to consult me and I ended up in a way assuming the leadership role.”
Zuma, who rose into political prominence as National, Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) provincial secretary, previously worked at the University of Zululand, where he was a shop steward.
“I became the secretary for the tertiary education sector. They elected me provincial sec- retary in 2001.”
He was asked to fill the position after his predecessor, Bheki Mtolo, was deployed as the mayor of Richmond Municipality.
“It was tough in Nehawu. Not a single provincial secretary could stay for more than two years,” he said, recalling tensions and divisions that bedevilled the Cosatu-aligned union. I was expected to spend one year in office to finish the term, but I ended up staying for about eight years.”
Zuma has also served as ANC branch chairman, starting in 1992 until 1998.
He had a stint as councillor when municipalities were being established in the post-1994 era. He started as a deputy mayor of the interim Hilton council, near Howick, in 1995 and later assumed the same role when the transitional council was formed, until 2000.
“When we started working as councillors we were not even paid a cent. I think we started being paid after three or four years,” Zuma said.
Zuma has been preoccupied with political work to a point that his family came second.
On at least two occasions, when tragedy struck his family, he was busy with party work at key critical moments of the ANC. His mother and one of his brothers died when he was attending major ANC meetings.
“I had to leave the conference for home to prepare for the funeral.”
He says he knows his mother and brother supported his political career.
“They knew when it came to issues of ANC, the family was not a priority. I think (their death) was to see how strong I was. They made me strong.”
Zuma, who will be at the heart of ANC KZN, described himself as part of its collective leadership.
“I belong to a collective leadership, which is capable enough to deal with issues pertaining to the organisation and society.”
He said the newly-elected leadership would work for the success of the ANC.
“We will make sure KZN continues to be respected and plays a role to develop good policies. We want to go to our glorious moment where we lead as KZN. We will do so in terms of membership, giving direction to national issues and providing good policies for the organisation.”
He said their focus would start with the members who had shared a different perspective on leadership choices.
“They must feel that they are part of the ANC, they are our members. Whatever happened before the conference is in the past. We are one organisation,” Zuma said.
He said the provincial leaders would come up with time frames for convening the eThekwini regional conference soon.
“In KZN, there has to be leadership in all the regions.”