Former Eastern Cape education minister Stone Sizani was on Sunday named as the new chairperson of the African National Congress in the province.
He immediately acknowledged he faced a ”huge task” in overcoming the factionalism and divisions that have threatened to cripple the organisation.
Sizani beat the only other contender, ex-head of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation Mcebisi Jonas, by just under 200 votes of the total 1 509 cast.
Delegates at the party’s provincial congress, being held at the University of Fort Hare, erupted in cheers and chants of ”Stone, Stone” when the results of the polling, which dragged on through Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday, were announced.
The result has significant implications for the ANC’s succession debate, as the Eastern Cape will be the largest voting bloc at the party’s national conference next year.
Sizani, who chairs the ANC’s Nelson Mandela metro region, is an Mbeki man, while Jonas has the backing of a grouping seen as pro-Zuma, if only because of its dislike of Mbeki. He replaces Makhenkesi Stofile, who stepped down after ten years
at the helm in the province. Sizani’s deputy, elected by a similar margin, is the province’s economic development minister, Mbulelo Sogoni, and the new provincial
secretary is boxing promoter Sephatho Handi.
Handi, who is also chief of staff in the office of the mayor of Buffalo City, was nominated by Amathole, the largest of the seven ANC regions in the province, after its original candidate, parliamentary chief whip Mbulelo Goniwe, withdrew.
Goniwe is facing a party disciplinary hearing over allegations of sexual harassment.
Sizani said after the results were announced that he felt humbled by the responsibility he had been given.
He also said he was apprehensive, because so many branches, which did not meet accreditation requirements, had not attended the three-yearly conference.
”My biggest worry is the task ahead to unite everybody behind the programme of the African National Congress, and the responsibility to build our future.
”The biggest challenge facing all of us is to make sure that those people who could not vote because they could not come here, and those people who did come and voted for the other candidate, and the people who voted for us, should be brought together under the umbrella of the organisation to make sure we’re not only united, but [that] we build a strong organisation.”
He said this meant uniting with people who ”disagree with you and may even be opposed to you, both politically and even ideologically”.
”In this context, it’s going to be a huge task ahead of us to unite the Eastern Cape.”
Earlier in the conference, outgoing chairperson Humphrey Maxagwana noted in his report what he said were divisions in the organisation which led to the provincial executive being undermined by ”our own structures”, and spoke of disturbing levels of indiscipline among the membership.
There were also ”problems of incoherence” in levels of leadership in the province.
ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe, who was at the conference, said the new leadership team offered a blend of youth and experience that would enable it to meet the challenge of ”pulling together” the organisation and giving ”proper leadership” to the province.
He said elections were a tool for strengthening the organisation, not dividing it.
”Delegates have the right to canvass for whosoever that they prefer, but, once the results are announced, they must all understand that the leadership that has been elected has been elected by all members of the organisation.”
He said there had been queries during voting about the credentials of some delegates from the Chris Hani region, which centres on Queenstown, and OR Tambo, which covers Mthatha and much of the Transkei.
He and other members of the national executive committe were constituted as a tribunal to listen to their concerns, and OR Tambo ended up with an additional 13 delegates.
OR Tambo had backed Jonas for the chairmanship. – Sapa