A combination of factors including complacency, the departure of leftist stalwart and former ANC provincial chair Makhenkesi Stofile and his deputy Enoch Godongwana, and alleged patronage lie behind the dramatic defeat of the leftist, pro-Zuma faction of the ANC in the Eastern Cape.
Eastern Cape leaders have told the Mail & Guardian that some key leaders of the left were lured to a faction sympathetic to Thabo Mbeki when they were given positions as provincial ministers by Premier Nosimo Balindlela.
In April Balindlela appointed Mbulelo Sogoni, the former provincial deputy secretary, as finance minister after she fired Andre de Wet from the position. Following a Cabinet reshuffle, also in April, Thokozile Xasa, the former treasurer, was appointed social development minister after she sacked Bevan Goqwana, the former health minister.
Pro-Mbeki regions at the recent congress elected Sogoni and Xasa as provincial deputy chairperson and treasurer respectively despite the fact that they were originally linked to Stofile’s camp.
“Once they became provincial ministers, the two PEC members succumbed to Balindlela’s patronage and joined the Mbeki camp,” a party member in the OR Tambo region complained.
A bitter cold war between Balindlela and Stofile started in 2004 after she fired Stofile’s close ally Godongwana from her Cabinet.
The province was the target of lobbying by the Mbeki and Jacob Zuma camps at the party’s elective congress last week as it has traditionally been the most powerful voting bloc in the ANC national elective congresses.
Stofile had led the “left-leaning” provincial leadership for the past 10 years, but the province was reclaimed by the Mbeki-centrists who humiliated left-wing candidates and Zuma backers during elections at the congress, failing to win a single seat in the top five official positions.
The secretariat reports prepared for the ANC’s eastern Cape conference, which took place last week, noted that: “Since the provincial chairperson and deputy chairperson started operating outside the province, the regularity and effectiveness of officials was affected … it was no longer possible to hold meetings every week. This was compounded by the redeployment of the deputy secretary and treasurer in government.” The Mbeki camp took advantage of the weakened structure to push leftists out of senior provincial positions.
“The Mbeki camp used Bisho [provincial legislature] as a springboard to canvass for their candidates while delivering patronage to ANC members who work in government, especially targeting the economically vulnerable youth,” the member said.
The stakes were so high and tension so thick throughout the four-day congress that it was difficult to predict which camp would take over the control of the province.
But Zuma supporters were stung after they failed to push their candidates in the party’s top five official positions.
In the chairmanship race, Stone Sizani, an Mbeki loyalist and chairman of the Nelson Mandela region, beat Mcebisi Jonas, the former director of Eastern Cape Development Corporation.
Another Mbeki ally, Siphato Handi, a boxing promoter and sub-regional secretary of Buffalo City (East London), defeated Phumulo Masualle, the SACP provincial chairman, in a closely contested election for the secretarial position.
Sizani is no lightweight, say insiders
Stone Sizani (pictured right), the former provincial education minister, who was elected chairperson of the ANC in the Eastern Cape, faces a tough task as the province’s regions are divided into two main blocks as a result of the presidential succession battle, reports Mbuyisi Mgibisa.
“My biggest worry is the task ahead, of uniting everybody behind the programme of the ANC,” he said after his victory at the congress last week.
Party members who spoke to the Mail & Guardian this week believe that Sizani is equal to the task of building unity and cohesion among party structures.
“He is not a political lightweight. He once served as the provincial deputy chairperson under Makhenkesi Stofile. In the late 1980s, Sizani was also involved in the activities of the United Democratic Front and at some point served the organisation as a provincial secretary,” said an NEC member who does not want to be named.
Despite his political credentials, he had a torrid time as head of the education department in the Eastern Cape.
During his reign, the department was crippled by maladministration, corruption in the feeding scheme, and non-payment of teachers.
“Some ANC cadres share the sentiment that he did not perform as head of the department, but that’s not a factor for me when it comes to leading the party,” the NEC member said.
Some leaders are optimistic about Sizani’s leadership capability and believe he can usher in a new era when it comes to relations between the provincial ANC structure and government.
Relations between the provincial ANC and government were strained during Stofile’s era after Nosimo Balindlela fired his close ally Enoch Godongwana, the former provincial finance minister in 2004 (see main story).
Sizani faced his first challenge on radio this week as listeners called in to radio stations to criticise the Eastern Cape motion to propose Mbeki for a third term. Some callers, who claimed to have attended the conference, said they do not remember the resolution being adopted. Sizani defended the resolution, contending it had been adopted despite minor opposition. He added that the resolution was necessary because Mbeki was a unifier who would stabilise the party.