The battle for ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson is likely to be a two-way contest between sitting chairperson and premier Sihle Zikalala, and senior party MP Siboniso Duma (Photo: Jackie Clausen/Sunday Times/Gallo Images)
The battle for ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson is likely to be a two-way contest between sitting chairperson and premier Sihle Zikalala, and senior party MP Siboniso Duma, with any challengers needing to be nominated from the floor.
By yesterday, branches from the majority of the ANC’s 11 regions in the province had only nominated the two, and Emalahleni chairperson Ntuthuko Mahlaba, for the position of chair of the region, a contest which will be decided at the party’s provincial conference at the weekend.
As a result, other would-be candidates, including AmaZulu FC owner Sandile Zungu, health member of the executive council (MEC) Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, former director general Nhlanhla Ngidi and sitting treasurer Nomsa Dube-Ncube, would have to be nominated for chair by 25% of the participating branches from the floor.
Both Zungu and Dube-Ncube had been hoping to secure the backing of the province’s largest and most powerful region, eThekwini, but the region had, by yesterday, not nominated a candidate. None of the other regions had backed either of them as their choice to lead the ANC in the province.
A source in the eThekwini region said this had happened because its officials had been attempting to convince sitting provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli to stand as chairperson against Zikalala, rather than backing either Dube-Ncube or Zungu.
The region wants Ntuli to stand against his former running mate and had been attempting to convince him to do so during the branch general meeting process.
They had failed to do so by yesterday, and instead started new discussions as to who to back for chairperson should Ntuli continue to resist accepting their nomination.
This means that should the region put forward another candidate, it would have to do so from the floor at the weekend, which requires the support of 25% of the delegates to the conference.
While the nominations will only be made public once a consolidation process is completed tomorrw, five regions – Lower South Coast, Moses Mabhida, General Gizenga Mpanza, Far North and Inkosi Bhambatha – had endorsed Zikalala for a second term as chairperson by the end of the last branch general meeting on Sunday.
The Josiah Gumede region had nominated Duma as chairperson at the head of a slate including Mahlaba as his deputy, Kokstad mayor Bheki Mtolo as secretary, cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC Sipho Hlomuka as deputy secretary and eThekwini chairperson Zandile Gumede as treasurer.
Mahlaba has also been nominated as provincial chairperson by eMalahleni, whose secretary, Chris Mhlophe, said they would be “engaging with other regions” as to who would make up the rest of the top five.
The Mzala Nxumalo region had not confirmed a candidate for chairperson, but was negotiating with others for the inclusion of Simelane-Zulu in the top five, while Musa Dladla and Harry Gwala were both still talking to other regions about who they wanted in the top leadership.
Mzala Nxumalo secretary Ntuthuko Nxumalo said 65 of the region’s 77 qualifying branches had held their AGMs and had agreed to go into the provincial conference with no five person slate, but would instead “allow engagement” on Simelane-Zulu’s inclusion in the top five in any role.
Musa Dladla secretary Nathi Xulu said the region’s 65 participating branches had not decided on a slate, despite having preferences for chairperson.
“We are still engaging within the region and coordinating our position. We are not part of any grouping as we want to elect a united leadership by the time the conference is finished. We adopted a programme at our regional conference and will engage people who are in line with that programme,” Xulu said.
Zikalala’s lobbyists believe at least another three regions will back him as chairperson, heading a slate including Ntuli as secretary, education MEC Kwazi Mshengu as deputy chairperson, MP Jomo Sibiya as deputy secretary and legislature speaker Nontombeko Boyce as treasurer.
A number of the regions had included Gumede – currently on trial for corruption – as their choice for treasurer, but were forced to reconsider their decision in line with the new conference rules released by Luthuli House.
In terms of the modified step aside regulations, no person who has been charged and appeared in court may stand for election.
This disqualifies Gumede, who had earlier stood as eThekwini chairperson, despite having been charged.
Zungu, who earlier this month visited former president Jacob Zuma at his Nxamalala home to try to secure his endorsement for his campaign, heads a slate with Simelane-Zulu as his deputy and former secretary Super Zuma as secretary, Gumede as treasurer and MP Bongi Sithole-Moloi as deputy secretary.
A source in eThekwini said a large number of the branches might back this slate and that there was still a chance of Zungu being nominated from the floor by the region.
The region might also back the Duma-headed slate, if Zungu’s slate did not make the 25% threshold.
Dube-Ncube, KwaZulu-Natal’s finance MEC, has been punted by her backers as chairperson at the head of a slate that includes Simelane-Zulu as deputy chair, Mtolo as secretary, Hlomuka as deputy secretary and Gumede as treasurer.
However, her campaign appears to have failed to gain traction in the branches and regions, if the outcome of the branch general meeting nominations is anything to go by.
At the weekend, her chief lobbyist, Wiseman Ngobese, claimed on social media Dube-Ncube was being targeted by state agencies, who planned to arrest her to prevent her standing as chair.
Ngobese said she had been approached by law enforcement agencies last week in what they believed to be “an orchestrated attempt to unleash the judiciary in order to achieve a particular conference outcome”.
“Undoubtedly, if this matter is not handled properly, it will compromise the integrity of the conference,” Ngobese said.
Other Dube-Ncube lobbyists claimed they had intercepted WhatsApp communication between Zikalala and Zungu plotting to use The Hawks to arrest her on trumped-up charges from her term as cooperative governance MEC – as did reports in a local newspaper – but failed to provide them to Mail & Guardian when asked to do so.
However, in a statement yesterday, The Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority confirmed that investigators had met Dube-Ncube to discuss an inquiry registered in 2019 but that she was not a suspect in the case.
They said neither agency had any knowledge of the “alleged plan” to frame Dube-Ncube.
“There have been investigations that were conducted from the outset and no suspect was ever identified. MEC Dube-Ncube was approached, but it was to obtain clarity on the information received. She was never identified as the suspect or potential suspect,” the agencies said in a joint statement.
In her statement to The Hawks last week, Dube-Ncube said she had no knowledge of an investigation into the alleged corruption involving part of R220-million in disaster management funding which was given to the provincial agriculture department in 2015/2016.
In the statement, Dube-Ncube said the allegations against her were “unfounded” and “made for nefarious purposes and without a shred of evidence to show that such an amount was misappropriated”.
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