The contest for a new Free State premier has begun, but is bedevilled by anger and befuddlement, reports Rehana Rossouw
NOMINATIONS from branches of the African National Congress for a premier in the Free State close today, but there is still little clarity about who is eligible to stand. Some branches are nominating deposed Premier Patrick “Terror” Lekota in protest against the ANC’s decision to redeploy him to the Senate.
Currently leading the formal nominations race are Free State MEC for Safety and Security Papi Kganare, MEC for Environmental Affairs and Tourism Tate Makgoe and MEC for Public Works Greg Nthatisi.
Makgoe is seen by many as a frontrunner at this stage, as he was not closely aligned to either Lekota or Free State ANC chair Pat Matosa in their bruising political row.
But branches and senior ANC officials are still confused about how open the race is. The ANC has indicated that members serving in the National Assembly would shortly be redeployed to the Free State, and branches are unclear whether these people would be available for nomination as premier. At least two MPs would leave the National Assembly to make way for Matosa and his ally Ace Magashule, who are being redeployed to Parliament.
The election of a new premier is being co- ordinated by a taskgroup dispatched by the ANC to the Free State to oversee the return to effective governance in the province. “The whole nomination process is being run in a very haphazard and undignified manner. There are no nomination forms, in some cases people are just sending their choices verbally to Walter Sisulu who is overseeing the process,” said a senior Free State ANC member.
“Branches are also not sure how seriously their nominations will be taken. The ANC is on record as saying that the most popular person won’t necessarily be chosen, they want the best person for the job. So why raise people’s hopes that their choice will make it as premier?
“There is a widespread belief that they are letting branches meet to discuss nominations but national [the ANC national executive committee] is going to decide anyway.”
Free Staters are still absorbing the news that Lekota is not available for the position following President Nelson Mandela’s announcement last week that he was being sent to the Senate.
Minister of Labour and taskgroup member Tito Mboweni said branches had been asked to forward nominations but would be informed later whether people redeployed from the National Assembly were available for the position of premier.
Once the provincial legislature is reconstituted, the ANC caucus would meet and discuss who they would nominate as premier. Their nomination would be taken to a legislative session which would be attended by a chief justice to swear in the new incumbent. “At this stage we are not in a position to give a date and a time when this will happen. This is a political process, not a mathematical equation we are solving,” Mboweni said. “Branches are structures of the ANC so naturally they have to take part in processes of the ANC. Normally, branches take nominations for the position of premier to a list conference, but we are now in an emergency situation in the Free State and have to ensure this process happens as quickly as possible so we can stabilise the province.
“We also want to do it in a manner which ensures inclusivity. The leadership of the ANC will make certain proposals but will try as much as possible to find common ground with members in the Free State.”
He said the taskgroup was trying its best, under difficult circumstances, to communicate developments in the Free State to all its branches. Last weekend taskgroup members were deployed to ANC regions in the Free State to explain Lekota’s redeployment.
“We want to have the complete support of ANC structures. It is not a perfect situation, but the ANC is determined to ensure a stable political environment in the Free State,” Mboweni said. The taskgroup was also “doing its best” to keep the ANC Youth and Women’s Leagues informed of developments, as well as the South African National Civics Organisation (Sanco) and the South African Communist Party.
The Mail & Guardian has established that when Lekota was summoned to meet Mandela in Durban, he left the Free State intent on discussing the possibility of making himself available for nomination as premier.
“He was very happy to receive the call from the president, and left feeling very positive, but the man I saw on television on Thursday night was not a happy man,” said a friend.
Another source close to Lekota said by Monday this week he was telling supporters that they had to accept the fact that he was leaving the Free State for Cape Town. Lekota was this week urging people to accept the decision and distanced himself from a march in Bloemfontein on Wednesday organised by the newly formed Crossroads Democratic Movement.
“There is concern about the mood of ordinary people,” said a senior Free State ANC member. “We are picking up a lot of confusion and a lot of anger. Even more worrying is the talk of non-co-operation with the new Free State government which may entail a call not to pay service charges.
“The taskgroup should meet with Sanco, Cosatu and the Communist Party as soon as possible to brief them on what has happened. More importantly, it should give full explanations to the branches so that ANC members can go out into the community and tell people what is happening.”
The Goldfields region of the Free State ANC met at the weekend to discuss the situation in the province, and most of the 12 branches present decided they would nominate Lekota for premier, despite the decision to redeploy him.
“Jeremy Cronin represented the ANC taskgroup and we were very dissatisfied with the explanations he gave us. He could not explain why Terror was redeployed, why Madiba had him face the television cameras like a guilty man instead of explaining the decision to redeploy Pat and Ace as well,” said a member who had been present at the meeting.
“We asked about the overwhelming vote of confidence in Terror at the July provincial general council and whether that did not count in Terror’s favour for the NEC [National Executive Council], but again we got no answer. So we want Terror for premier.”
Some of the answers were provided last Saturday when Mandela addressed the ANC and its alliance partners in the Northern Cape and admitted that the state of the ANC in the area left much to be desired.
“Of course, healthy competition between individuals for election posts is a natural part of any democratic organisation. But when personal competition starts to absorb all one’s energies, when political programmes are forgotten and when solid grassroots work is neglected, then matters become very serious.
“The ANC has a long and proud tradition of placing the organisation above individuals, of mutual respect for one another. We defeated apartheid because we have always tried to build the collective.”