Troubled ANC candidates go head to head
WITH the much-anticipated ANC national elective conference just over a month away, it looks like the contest for the party president will be a two-horse race between Zweli Mkhize and the current president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Both leaders recently received endorsements from the party’s leagues at the weekend.
In Kwazulu-natal, Mkhize is slowly, but surely garnering strong support as recent reports state that the party’s provincial leadership was adamant that over 90% of the branches had nominated him for the presidential position.
ANC provincial secretary, Bheki Mtolo, affirmed that the party was more than confident that branches will confirm the decision by the regions that Mkhize must be the provincial nominee for the president’s position.
In his address, Mtolo promised that the process would be transparent and open, and all qualifying branch nominations will be counted manually, one by one.
Mtolo added that when the province pronounced Mkhize’s name, it had consulted widely with branches through the regional chairpersons and secretaries so that there would be no surprises when the electoral committee opens the boxes after the election.
Mkhize was endorsed by the party’s youth wing structure, while the Veterans and the Women’s Leagues chose Ramaphosa.
It will be noted that the endorsement of Ramaphosa by the Women’s League came as a blow to Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Lindiwe Sisulu – the only women presidential hopefuls who have made themselves available for the position of party president.
Ramaphosa is still haunted by the Phala Phala farm saga, while on the other hand, Mkhize elected to resign from his position as health minister as he faced the Digital Vibes investigations.
It remains to be seen which of the two presidential frontrunners the ANC branches will choose to lead the political party that constitutes the government, thus becoming a beacon of hope for the salvation of an already “sinking ship” that was regarded as the saviour of the poor, and became the country’s first democratically elected majority African government after the fall of apartheid.