Despite a high court ruling removing unlawfully-elected ANC mayor Dada Morero, the ANC still managed to score itself five new Johannesburg council chairperson positions on Thursday as it cemented its new-found strength in the city. (Photo by Papi Morake/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
The balance of forces in determining who will lead the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal next month is likely to be decided this weekend when regional leaders meet.
The Sunday meeting of 11 regional chairpersons and secretaries is expected to decide the five who will lead the programme of action ahead of the party’s December national conference.
The names likely to dominate discussions for provincial leaders will include KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Sihle Zikalala, provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli, member of the executive committee for transport and community safety Peggy Nkonyeni, provincial treasurer Nomusa Dube-Ncube, eMalahleni chairperson Ntuthuko Mahlaba, as well as Sibonisa Duma and Sandile Zungu.
Members of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive committee (PEC), who met for nine hours on Monday, raised concern about the emergence of seven names to contest the provincial conference in July and encouraged the regions to consolidate names to avoid a further split, sources told the Mail & Guardian. This comes after the regional leaders met former president Jacob Zuma at his Nkandla home last week.
At least three leaders who were in the Nkandla meeting told the M&G that although the names were never discussed, Zuma was asked to give his analysis of the KwaZulu-Natal government’s performance in the past 10 years.
The PEC meeting is said to have also pledged support for ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa, resolving to only take a stance once a report has been compiled by the party’s top officials on the February 2020 theft at his game farm in Limpopo.
The visit by regions to Nkandla is also said to have been at the centre of Monday’s discussions. According to two insiders, the PEC wanted to understand the purpose of meeting Zuma and why regional leaders did not consult the province.
“They said they wanted to hear his [Zuma’s] views and give him a guarantee that there is no one fighting with him. We said ‘some of you are new; you should have asked us as the PEC, we don’t have a problem with the old man’,” one PEC member said.
“There are deliberations he is having that we don’t condone. These deliberations undermine the leadership of the ANC. We told regions that they must not think we don’t love him, value him or support him. We have done a lot of things; we said to him, ‘cooperate with the Zondo commission’ and he didn’t. We also came to his rescue in the VBS [Mutual Bank] matter but we don’t talk about those things. We support him but equally we can be critical.”
The M&G first reported on the formation of the regional leadership forum in June, which decided on a key programme of action going into KwaZulu-Natal’s conference set for July.
The province has walked on eggshells regarding Zuma, with both Zikalala and Ntuli being booed during the former president’s court appearances for his corruption case. Last year, the two allegedly approached the ANC’s top six officials, requesting that Zuma receive a presidential pardon after he was convicted of contempt of court by the constitutional court for defying an order to appear before the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture.
According to the two regional leaders, Zuma was also told to allow the regions to advance his cause in the ANC, with some regions asking the former president to rein in some leaders from the radical economic transformation (RET) faction, who have often made provocative statements on his behalf.
The regions are said to have called for people such as Carl Niehaus, Nkosentsha Shezi and Dudu Myeni to refrain from insulting the ANC and its leaders at public events when speaking on behalf of the former president.
“We are doing this to ensure that no one does wrong things in his name. It’s better if it’s his region of Musa Dladla or other regions speak on his behalf. We have seen that those behind him tend to have this idea that they can stand on a podium and speak ill of the ANC in his name. We don’t want the support we give him to translate to undermining the leadership of the ANC. We are firm on that, he must allow us to lead the charge for his plight. Those who support him must be disciplined because he is the former leader of the ANC,” one source said.
Another regional leader said there was an awareness that Neihaus and others had supported Zuma during his darkest days and therefore “it’s difficult to remove people who have defended him for years”.
“The reality is that not all regions supported him. Now that we have all agreed to support him, the RET members must be led by regions. We are not saying they must be sidelined, because they have been there for him, but we are saying that they must be led by their regions.”
The forum has met four times since its inception in June, with the ANC’s step-aside rule, its attitude towards Zuma, the distance between the party and the Zulu king and the party’s involvement in factional battles in the Nazareth Baptist Church being part of the agenda.
Zamo Nxumalo, chair of the forum and Harry Gwala ANC regional chairperson, sought to downplay the importance of the 19 July meeting, saying the regions would have an honest discussion on who was best placed to lead the programme of action. He said the meeting would also reflect on the ANC’s waning support — as shown in the 2019 national elections and the 2021 local government elections — and discuss the tasks recommended by Zuma to curb the problem.
“The meeting that will sit will now talk to the names, the challenges and what needs to be done and who are relevant to take us forward. Regions will lobby for the people they deem fit and we will have an honest engagement. We normally start with the top five then we discuss the 30 additionals. I wouldn’t say it’s a crucial meeting. It’s a normal meeting of the forum,” he said.
Nxumalo said the forum of chairpersons and secretaries had also been used during the 2012 provincial conference, which saw Zweli Mkhize emerging as provincial chair for a second term. This strategy helped regions calculate who was behind Mkhize and whether his ambition for a top-six position would receive a block in the province.
Nxumalo said that in 2012, only three regions were against Mkhize’s ascension and had lobbied for other people. But, after seeing that the numbers game was against them, the regions decided against fielding their preferred candidates.
Another contentious issue up for discussion on Sunday will be the step aside rule which stipulates that those facing criminal charges step down from their posts. At least nine regions are said to be in agreement that the party must go to a special national conference to repeal the rule, which has divided the ANC.
Nxumalo said while a special conference had not been discussed in formal meetings of the forum, “individually comrades have said that we must review the step aside because it’s tearing our organisation apart”.
“The implementation of the step aside rule is clumsy. While we were part of those who took the decision, we made a mistake because it is inconsistent with the constitution.”
Nxumalo made an example of Mahlaba whom he said was unfairly treated when he was elected in absentia as Emalahleni chair after he was found guilty of assault, theft and malicious damage to property following the attack on the employee of a fibre cable contractor in Newcastle in 2021.
Mahlaba was handed a two-year sentence with an option to pay an R20 000 fine.He was reinstated to his position as regional chair following the court ruling. The step aside rule stipulates that those convicted with an option to pay a fine do not have to be removed from party positions.
Ramaphosa’s allies and those of Zweli Mkhize will be watching the outcomes of the Sunday meeting with a keen eye, as this will be the biggest signal yet on the balance of forces in the province. Mkhize, who is said to enjoy the support of most regions in the province, is unlikely to back Zikalala’s return.
While eThekwini regional players were said to be considering Ntuli for deputy chairperson and Zandile Gumede for provincial treasurer, this appears to has changed somewhat.
One regional leader said Ntuli had met with Mkhize’s allies, assuring them that he would lobby for the disgraced former health minister in the December elective conference. The insider said the most influential branches in the eThekwini region would likely endorse Ntuli for provincial chair.
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