Frustrated: Allies of the Eastern Cape ANC’s provincial chair candidate Babalo Madikizela say he has been ‘misunderstood’ as a Mkhize ally
Babalo Madikizela, the former ANC Eastern Cape treasurer who is now vying for the position of provincial chairperson, has poured cold water on rumours that he will support Zweli Mkhize for ANC president when the governing party goes to its elective conference in December.
Speaking to Mail & Guardian on Thursday morning, Madikizela said he was “frustrated” by talks that he was aligned with Mkhize.
“I’ve been saying that when the time comes and the ANC national election process is open, Cyril Ramaphosa must be given a second chance. Any media mischief, I will not be part of it. We must be given time and space to sort out our own provincial issues without anyone wanting to pull us [into] the national debate,” he said.
Madikizela was aligned with Mkhize at the 2017 Nasrec conference. Those close to him have previously told the M&G that Madikizela is likely to support current treasurer general Paul Mashatile for the deputy president position at the December conference.
Those aligned to Madikizela say he has been “misunderstood” as a Mkhize lieutenant, a relationship that party insiders say was born out of convenience at Nasrec.
“This thing of people wanting to push us to Zweli, that we don’t know… They should at least have the decency to call us. We can’t be hearing about our views from people we don’t know,” he said.
Madikizela first made waves when he became Oscar Mabuyane’s biggest contender, with his Alfred Nzo home region naming him as its preferred candidate. This move was later replicated by the Nelson Mandela Bay and Amathole regions, which also called for Teris Ntutu for the position of provincial secretary. Ntutu is widely known to be a fierce rival of Mabuyane.
Should Madikizela emerge as chairperson, Mashatile could have the backing of two large provinces, the other being Limpopo.
In Limpopo, Danny Msiza, who had to relinquish any ambition of contesting for the position of provincial secretary due to the amended step-aside rule, is also said to be a Mashatile backer.
Msiza’s home region of Sekhukhune was the first to publicly pronounce Cyril Ramaphosa as its preferred candidate for president.
Those in Msiza’s inner circle say the Limpopo heavyweight, who is a close ally of Madikizela, has also been working overtime to convince regions that Mashatile should be the ANC’s second in command.
The Eastern Cape provincial conference has been touted by those close to Mkhize as the litmus test of whether he would be able to contest Ramaphosa for the top job.
Those aligned to Mkhize hedged their bets on Madikizela becoming the chairperson of the Eastern Cape.
Madikizela is considered the firm favourite to win the provincial conference against his former ally Mabuyane.
The M&G understands that there have been attempts by those aligned with Mabuyane to convince Madikizela to form a united slate. This was rebuffed by the Madikizela faction, who are of the view that Mabuyane, as well as provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi, have used all means to delay the conference in the hopes of gaining numbers.
One insider said there were talks that the conference would be postponed again to a September date.
Reacting to this, Madikizela said: “These things can happen, the last time we heard from the media that [it] is going to be postponed. Anything is possible in our days,” he said.
[/membership]