Sanco in KZN backs Cyril for president

THE South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday made a glowing recommendation for Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to succeed Jacob Zuma as ANC president at its national conference in December.

This comes after the organisation’s national leadership endorsed Ramaphosa for the leadership at the weekend.

Richard Mkhungo, Sanco KZN provincial secretary-general, said: “The 53rd National Conference of the ANC in Mangaung waved its confidence to Cde Cyril Ramaphosa as one among the many to serve the duties of the presidency.

“We maintain the same confidence to Ramaphosa who has proved undeniably throughout his term of office that he is fit and ready to ascend to the position of the president of the ANC and the country.”

Mkhungo said the ANC had “done tremendously” in preparing Ramaphosa. Snubbing him for the party’s presidency would be “high negligence”.

The civic organisation’s provincial leadership also said it had been a “historically embraced tradition” of the ruling party that a deputy president succeed the president.

He said Sanco’s decision to back Ramaphosa had been carefully pondered and debated by its NEC, including all provincial structures.

“We call on all our structures in KwaZulu-Natal, regions, sub-regions, zones, branches and street committees to stand by this perspective,” Mkhungo said.

He added that they must “further engage” the structures of the ANC on their choice, including Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, “as one of the candidates who has been well spoken about on the national perspective”.

On whether they supported calls for President Jacob Zuma to step down as president, Mkhungo said Zuma had “done so many mistakes”.

“We feel that the whole NEC of the ANC has many challenges on its own and it has defended Zuma on all occasions, but the president can only step down if the ANC, like it did with Thabo Mbeki, decides that he should step down,” Mkhungo said.