The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has announced Dr Zweli Mkhize as their presidential candidate and Paul Mashatile as deputy president.
This was announced in a media briefing held at Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme House in Durban this morning.
This comes as the ANC prepares the road to the 55th national elective conference, scheduled to take place from 16 December.
This nomination is to other provinces like Gauteng but differs when it comes to the presidential candidate, Gauteng still wants current president Cyril Ramaphosa to have a second term.
The special PEC met yesterday to consolidate nominations from different branches.
They are backing Stanley Mathabatha from Limpopo, in the Eastern Cape, for the secretary-general position, they are backing Phumulo Masualle, and for deputy secretary general, they are backing Nomvula Mokonyane, also known as “mama action”.
There have been reports that Mkhize has a case to answer regarding the Digital Vibes PPE scandal. ANC KZN secretary Bheki Mtolo dismissed this as lies.
“The people who can investigate in this country are the Hawks and the police, and there is no investigation. Don't lie. The SIU could not prove the case, and the health department officials are back at work. The only thing they were found guilty of was negligence, which happens to everybody, but that the tender was manipulated. I think they were rushing. During Covid-19, Mkhize did very well. Even if they want to arrest Mkhize, they must start investigations, which will take time. December is here, and he will close the conference,” said Mtolo.
The PEC said they are open to being lobbied because this remains a national conference, not a provincial one.
“For the position of treasurer general, the branches and the PEC mandated us to lobby provinces to make sure that at least we put a female comrade who is young, who is energetic. We must start discussing the provinces and various regions of our country. These positions are not cast in stone. We are not fixated, neither are we stubborn. We are open to persuasion by various provinces of the ANC because we fully understand that this is a national conference. It is not a KZN provincial conference,” said Mtolo.
He said the leadership of ANC in KZN is subjecting itself to some form of persuasion and can be persuaded.
“This, therefore, gives us a basis on which we as a province can start a formal engagement with other provinces of the ANC with the intention to persuade them and be persuaded by them. And we can assure all ANC members in KZN and the country as a whole we will go to this engagement with open minds, and we shall agree and accept what is best for the ANC and our country,” Mtolo said.
He further said: “We call upon our members and supporters that we still have a president who is Ramaphosa until 16 December 2022. We will have to applaud our president for the respect and the dignity he deserves as the head of our own movement. As we stated yesterday, central towards building a democratic and prosperous society is the leadership that should be elected by branches of the ANC and the people who shall govern. We shall engage other provinces with a high level of mutual respect and understanding that there is no small or big province. The importance is in the quality of the contribution that a province brings to this discussion to better the lives of our people”.
Political analyst Professor Bheki Mngomezulu said he was impressed by the manner in which the leadership of KZN had handled this nomination process.
“Firstly, they indicated that they wanted branches to have a say in the entire process, which is in line with the ANC practices historically, the way some of us understand it. So that is one thing that should be commended for,” said Mngomezulu.
He said, with regards to the nominations or the nominated candidates, there was also something very impressive about what they've done.
“Because they have indicated that they are not inward looking, but they are taking this forthcoming conference in December as a national conference. And as a result, amongst the nominees, they have a number of people from different provinces, which is very, very good, in fact, in terms of reshaping the ANC.
QUICK FACTS Top Six
Zweli Mkhize - president
Paul Mashatile - deputy president
Stanley Mathabatha - chairperson
Phumulo Masualle - secretary general
Nomvula Mokonyane - deputy secretary general
treasure general - they are leaving it to other provinces
ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za