Mondli waka Makhanya
THE ANC’s Western Cape region has elected a new leadership that is younger, less controversial and more black — as opposed to coloured — than the outgoing executive led by Dr Allan Boesak.
It has emerged seemingly united, lashing out at the press for speculation about division in its ranks.
The new executive is headed by Chris Nissen, deputy speaker of the provincial legislature, and for the first time four out of five of the top positions went to blacks.
This reflects the reluctance of branches from the black townships — numerically strong within the ANC — to abide by the national office directive that leadership should reflect the region’s demographics. The Western Cape, which is 55 percent coloured and 19 percent black, is one of only two provinces in the country which does not have a black majority.
The new executive reflects the ANC’s strength in black, rather than coloured, townships but has major implications for its ability to win over the coloured vote in next year’s local government elections.
There was a strong feeling in black branches that Boesak, who had been put in his position at the insistence of national office, had failed to deliver the coloured vote in April. It was therefore time, it was argued, to end the symbolism and elect a leader on the basis of the organisation’s complexion.
“How we do in the local government eclections depends on how the ANC reverses apartheid ideology,” says Nissen.
The race question — a problem in a province in which there is some antipathy between coloureds and blacks — was only dealt with in very general terms by ANC secretary general Cyril Ramaphosa and deputy president Thabo Mbeki, who said the “ANC had a responsibility to overcome racial tensions because the enemy of the coloured people is the same as the enemy of the black” — a reference to the National Party.
A potentially damaging chairmanship battle between Boesak and the fiery Tony Yengeni was averted when Boesak bowed out at the beginning of the conference, citing his workload as provincial Economic Affairs MEC. There has since been press speculation that he is tipped for a European diplomatic post. Anti-Yengeni forces then united behind Nissen, ousting the potential compromise candidate, veteran unionist Salie Manie.
Like Boesak, Nissen is a preacher — though he is still a practising one — and is eloquent on public platforms. Unlike his predecesor, he is a hands-on activist with a history of involvement in unglamorous grassroots projects, particularly in rural areas. He also has a relatively clean record, cross-spectrum acceptance and, as yet, few enemies.