The race to be the ANC’s chair in KwaZulu-Natal is expected to be fiercely contested with no less than seven names being put forward by various party branches, according to ANC insiders.
They say the region has learnt from its 2017 experience and will make sure it goes to the ANC elective conference in December with strong contenders for top positions.
The ANC’s biggest region, KwaZulu-Natal, is due to hold its regional conference from July 15-17 but the dates are still to be approved by the provincial executive committee (PEC).
Among the front-runners for the top position is current chair and premier Sihle Zikalala. His colleague in government, finance MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube, has the support of the ANC Women’s League. Prominent businessman and former president Jacob Zuma ally Sandile Zungu also enjoys strong support.
In February, Zungu, the owner of AmaZulu football club, pulled out of the race after consultations with his family and spiritual adviser. Last week he flew by helicopter to Zuma’s home in Nkandla to seek advice. Zungu has been campaigning vigorously and meeting with various leaders in the region.
Political analyst Protas Madlala told Business Day that Zungu appears to be the front-runner in the race.
“Given the state of the province and government, it’s clear that political activism cannot run government. Perhaps Zungu will bring a breath of fresh air. He is a well respected businessman and is known to have at various platforms told of his concern about the poor state of affairs in the province and the future of the youth.”
Madlala says the radical economic transformation (RET) faction supports Zungu, as does the powerful eThekwini region whose corruption-accused leader Zandile Gumede had to step aside after being crowned chair of the region in April.
“The RET faction has been lobbying widely and not just in KwaZulu-Natal, so it will be an interesting ANC elective conference. It’s clear that the region is divided between those who support Zuma’s RET faction and those who support President Cyril Ramaphosa. However, it is also clear that the numbers who support the Ramaphosa camp are at their lowest considering that nine of the 11 ANC regional conferences in KwaZulu-Natal have gone the way of the so-called RET faction,” he said.
Madlala said the region is also lobbying against the step-aside rule and is expected to go to the conference asking that it be put aside. “It’s sad, but we are at a stage of the ANC’s history where if the step-aside rule was respected to the letter, there will be no leaders left to stand for any position.”
ANC spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela told Business Day that the PEC was scheduled to sit on Wednesday to conclude all matters including the logistics for the conference but will now only meet next week.
“We anticipate that 680 branches from the region will send two delegates each to the conference. But the PEC is still awaiting final verification from national [level] and will therefore only sit next week. At this stage we cannot confirm who is being nominated for what positions. What we can confirm is that we want to go into the conference as a united party.”
At this stage the choice of venue is either the Durban International Convention Centre, the Durban University of Technology or the Olive Convention Centre, he said.
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