Still smarting from the African National Congress backlash against their anti-privatisation campaign last year, trade unionists and left-wingers in the party are expected to withdraw support from Mosiuoa Lekota in favour of Jacob Zuma for the deputy presidency of the ANC.
The party will elect office-holders at its national congress in Stellenbosch in December.
Several left-wing officials said this week that workers felt let down by party chairperson Lekota’s lack of support ”during our hour of need” last year. Zuma, however, had been ”most supportive”, even making appearances at workers’ meetings.
”JZ kept the lines of communication between us and the ANC open,” said one leftist.
Zuma is also credited with brokering the tripartite alliance’s summit earlier this year. The summit eased tensions between the alliance partners that had almost reached breaking point after the anti-privatisation campaign last August.
The ANC leadership retaliated with a document lambasting the leadership of the Congress of South African Trade Unions and of the South African Communist Party (SACP), accusing them of plotting to undermine the government.
Reliable sources said this week that the left-wing lobby in the ANC was also considering fielding Pallo Jordan against Lekota for the role as national chairperson of the party. Jordan is an outspoken member of the national executive committee and has the reputation of being one of the ANC’s foremost left-wing thinkers.
Trade unionists and the left-wing lobby feel that Jordan would ensure that their voice is heard in Luthuli House, the ANC’s national headquarters in Johannesburg.
But some party sources believe that Jordan has challenged President Thabo Mbeki on his controversial stand on Aids, thus reducing his chances.
In Lekota’s case, it is widely acknowledged that he managed to beat the late Steve Tshwete for the job in 1997 only with the backing of unions, communists and former members of the United Democratic Front.
Sources in KwaZulu-Natal said members of the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) were considering nominating Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as the party’s deputy president.
Sources say her candidacy has been pooh-poohed by some communists who have pointed out that she was not even able to hold her own in the ANCWL where she was trounced by Thandi Modise in the race for the deputy presidency in 1997.
However, Aids lobbyists in the ANC appreciated Zuma’s support when the party seemed to be leaning
towards denying conventional ideas about Aids.
Leftwingers point out that no one has been able to beat Jacob Zuma in any election. He beat Minister of
Public Enterprises Jeff Radebe and SACP stalwart Harry Gwala for the party chair in KwaZulu-Natal in 1994.
Zuma also beat Radebe and Jordan for the ANC national chair’s post that year.
Though workers remain unhappy with Mbeki, they are not considering opposing him.
The left-wing lobby that backed former trade unionist Kgalema Motlanthe for the position of ANC secretary general in 1997 is also reconsidering its support for him.
Debates about the candidates within the left-wing lobby continue and a clearer picture of its favourites is likely to emerge only next month.
Meanwhile the ANC’s national executive committee met last weekend to prepare for the national conference in December and for a meeting on policy in September.
The party’s national spokesperson, Smuts Ngonyama, said September’s conference would assess all of the party’s policies. He said the assessments are being drafted and once completed they will be debated in the provinces before being adopted at the conference.
Senior ANC sources say the documents deal with the state of the relationship between the alliance partners and economic policy, among other issues.