Former deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe has thrown his weight behind the push for a new wave of younger ANC members to take up leadership positions saying there is no space for the older generation to participate in the political life of the party.
“As far as generation mix ... the ANC is in the hands of a generation of Cosas [Congress of South African Students] leaders ... the older generation, that is why they come up with initiatives like Defend our Democracy because there is no space for them to participate in the political life of the ANC,” Motlanthe said Tuesday.
He was speaking on the future of SA politics at an event hosted by PSG Konsult — the financial services arm of investment heavyweight PSG Group.
Symbolic nominations
Motlanthe’s comments come as younger leaders have raised their hands to be elected as part of the new cohort of party officials at its internal leadership contest in December, where Cyril Ramaphosa is seeking re-election as party president.
This includes former ANC Youth League deputy president and justice minister Ronald Lamola (38) and human settlements minister Mmamoloko Kubayi (44), who are contesting for the position of deputy president alongside Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane (48) and ANC treasurer general Paul Mashatile (60).
Lamola has received endorsements for the position from leaders in Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape has thrown its weight behind Mabuyane. Mashatile has received endorsements from the provincial executive committee (PEC) in Gauteng, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, while Kubayi has been endorsed by her Soweto branch.
Pronouncements by PECs are largely symbolic, as the ANC branches have the final say on who makes it onto the ballot paper. Nominations began in September will close soon.
The ANC's new regulations for the nomination process bar candidates from negative campaigning; paying bribes, including vote buying; destruction of property and fighting at party gatherings.
For the position of treasurer general, the trio of former ANCYL leaders — party spokesperson, Pule Mabe, ANC Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina and former Nelson Mandela Bay councillor Andile Lungisa — have emerged as candidates . They are said to be contesting the position of finance minister, now held by Enoch Godongwana (65).
None of the candidates who are in the running to take charge of the party's purse have so far received endorsements from any PEC, but have rather received nominations from various branches nationwide.
Party spokesperson Mabe is 42-years-old, Lungisa is 43 and Masina 48. Mabe previously told Business Day that anyone under the age of 60 should be regarded as youth.
Candidates require at least 25% of all branches to back their campaign to appear on the ballot for both the official positions, which includes the president and deputy president position, and the NEC list, which has 80 members.
“The ANC is now led by the fourth generation of Cosas leaders throughout the branches, regions, provinces and the current leadership, and I think in the 55th elective conference, we are going to see a much younger Cosas generation in that leadership,” Motlanthe says.
As head of the party’s electoral committee, Motlanthe is at the heart of the ANC’s nomination process, which sets out new regulations for the process.
The new regulations bar candidates from negative campaigning; paying bribes, including vote buying; destruction of property and fighting at party gatherings. The regulations also ban members who face serious criminal charges, meaning a charge that could result in a prison sentence of longer than six months, from standing for leadership positions.
These rules represent a “break from the past” Motlanthe says.
“The point is to make it clear to the ANC members and the general public that the national executive committee [NEC] of the ANC is a very important structure ... if the ANC remains a governing party, this is a structure of leadership that has influence over who leads the country.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.