‘CYRIL JUMPED THE GUN, BUT

PANDOR IS GOLD’

POLITICOS in KwaZulu-Natal believe Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor – although well-respected – made it to the top of Cyril Ramaphosa’s slate, because of the “beliefs” that ANC treasurer-general, Zweli Mkhize, played a role in ousting former premier, Senzo Mchunu.

Some leaders in the KZN ANC believe Mkhize deserved the deputy president spot on Ramaphosa’s slate, while others say Lindiwe Sisulu would have made a better choice had she not started her own campaign to run for president.

“Mkhize was always supposed to be the deputy in the Ramaphosa camp after this was decided in 2012. At the time, it was a given that the deputy would succeed the president, but somewhere along the line things fell apart,” said an ANC member, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said the decision to have Durban-born Pandor and not Mkhize as Ramaphosa’s deputy, “most probably” came from KZN where the Senzo Mchunu camp is not in favour of Mkhize.

“The Senzo camp strongly believes Zweli played a role in ousting Mchunu and pushing for Sihle (Zikalala’s) win in the province, which was not the case. But whatever the case may be, the horse trading has only just begun,” he added.

If Mkhize had been Ramaphosa’s deputy, there was a strong chance that Mchunu would not have featured in the top ranks of the organisation.

But the seasoned politician spoke highly of Pandor, saying she was popular in the country and with her achievements and hard work in the party “she belongs in the veterans league”.

ANC councillor Lawrence Dube, who is also the main applicant in the high court case against the ANC in KZN, said he had “no squabbles” with Pandor as the deputy, although at one point he preferred Sisulu for the position.

“Pandor is very seasoned and we have gold in her. She has integrity,” Dube said.

He had been behind Sisulu as deputy “all along”, but when she decided to run the presidential race herself, he had to rethink it.

“She started having her own thoughts on the presidency, and I support Ramaphosa. I can’t have two presidents,” Dube said.

Some analysts contend that Ramaphosa’s slate contradicts his call for unity in the governing party. Political analyst Bheki Mngomezulu said the mere fact that the names Ramaphosa proposed emanated from one faction in the ANC showed that the divisions would continue unabated if he won the presidential race.

He maintained that Ramaphosa’s announcement of his slate at this time was a “political blunder”.

“As to why he did it, I am not sure, except that he exposed himself to criticism. He may have wanted to give assurance to Zuma’s critics that they have a home in his camp, but I think it will backfire,” Mngomezulu added.

He believes that if Ramaphosa had chosen presidential hopeful Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma as his deputy, it would bring the different factions closer and narrow the widening gulf between the proZuma and anti-Zuma camps.

“Pandor’s name has not been popular in the branches. CR17 (Ramaphosa) is being economical with the truth when he claims he got a cue from the branches before compiling his list,” said Mngomezulu.

In his view, Pandor was not the “better candidate”, but made the cut for being vocal against President Jacob Zuma, thus showing she did not support Dlamini Zuma either.

“Given that almost all the names announced by CR17 have at one point or another articulated their views against President Zuma, it is obvious they do not approve of NDZ’s candidacy,” he added.

Mngomezulu said Ramaphosa could have chosen Pandor because she had not been tainted by race politics.

“Her name did not feature anywhere, until CR17 mentioned her. CR17 did not at this point want to come up with a name that would trigger another debate.

“Proposing Dlamini Zuma, Sisulu or Baleka Mbete as his choice would have been misconstrued to circumvent the outcome of the elective conference and could have been interpreted as a sign of disrespect to them and their campaigns,” he contended.

He said Ramaphosa could not have proposed a male deputy as that too would have opened him up to criticism.

Pandor has also reportedly been assigned to the region to provide oversight on branch meetings and dispute resolutions in that province.