KZN ANC to hold meeting over NEC posts
THE provincial executive committee (PEC) of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is expected to hold a special meeting soon as branches are due to start their nomination process for members who will serve on the national executive committee (NEC) of the party.
This comes in the lead-up to the party’s December national elective conference. Branch members nationally have the opportunity to make nominations from September 7-30.
The NEC is the party’s highest decision-making body between conferences and at the Nasrec elective conference in 2017, no KZN representative was included in the ‘top six’ structure – the first time this has happened since the advent of democracy.
Therefore, some members of the ANC in KZN said after the provincial elective conference that it wanted at least two representatives in the ANC’s top six. However, ANC provincial spokesperson Mafika Mndebele said yesterday that there was an unnecessary obsession with making sure someone from the province appeared in the top six.
Mndebele said not having a representative in the top structure of the NEC was not a big blow or a setback.
“There are nine provinces and not all can be accommodated,” he said. The current NEC top six consists of President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President David Mabuza, chairperson Gwede Mantashe, treasurer Paul Mashatile, and suspended secretary-general Ace Magashule. Jessie Duarte, who died in July, was the deputy secretary-general.
Mndebele said the provincial executive committee would hold a special meeting soon and make a pronouncement on the voting process.
“Our intention is to unite KZN and we will not be rushing into who should be part of the NEC or not. The PEC wants to canvass the views of everyone before it makes any announcement.”
The party’s provincial chairperson, Sboniso Duma, said in July that he wanted to make it clear the ANC is a national organisation and that will be a factor before the December conference.
Sources said former health minister Zweli Mkhize is being touted for a top six position while former chairperson Sihle Zikalala and former provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli are expected to be nominated for NEC positions.
Mkhize resigned as minister of health in August last year, when implicated in the irregular awarding of contracts to Digital Vibes. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) found the department irregularly awarded the R141 million media awareness campaign contract for the National Health Insurance and another R125m contract for Covid-19 when Mkhize was health minister.
Mkhize has gone to court to have the SIU report reviewed and set aside, and in October last year had requested evidence and documents from the SIU so he could clear his name.
Mkhize’s lobbyists said the SIU has still not provided the former minister with crucial transcripts of witness testimony and claims these are delaying tactics to prevent him running for ANC president.
They also say that the Department of Health has concluded its disciplinary process against three of its officials who oversaw the Digital Vibes tender process and that there was no evidence that Mkhize exerted any undue pressure on these officials to act in a particular way.
Political analyst Professor Bheki Mngomezulu said the province would definitely want to have a candidate in the highest structure of the party.
“The NEC is the engine of the organisation as it controls the national working committee and all the PECs. The 2017 elective conference was an embarrassment despite the province fielding candidates for the top six.”
He said this time the province would field a candidate they would rally behind.