The ANC Youth League’s proposed list for the top six positions on the ANC’s national executive committee might feature the following names: Jacob Zuma (for president), Kgalema Motlanthe (deputy president), Makhenkesi Stofile (national chairperson), Gwede Mantashe (secretary general), Baleka Mbete (deputy secretary general) and Matthews Phosa (treasurer general).
The league is set to ask the SACP to release its chairperson, Mantashe, to take over the position of ANC secretary general in December.
The youth wing is finalising its nomination list for the ANC national conference at its national executive committee (NEC) meeting this weekend in Cape Town.
It hopes to enlist the support of the bigger provinces — such as Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape — in its quest to remake the leadership of the ANC radically at the national conference.
The youth and women’s leagues are considered provinces on their own and have full delegations. Since its inception, and over the decades, the youth league has been a key influence on the ANC leadership. Even Thabo Mbeki was nominated by the league in 1997 when he became ANC president.
The league also uses its semi-autonomous status to openly lobby and challenge the ANC leadership.
Its nomination list is likely to be similar to that of Cosatu, which will meet in mid-September to finalise its own preferred list for the ANC’s NEC.
If adopted by its members, the league’s list could see an overhaul of the top six officials, with the door being shown to Mbeki, ANC national chair Mosiuoa Lekota, deputy secretary general Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele and treasurer general Mendi Msimang.
As expected, the league is likely to confirm its nomination of ANC deputy president Zuma for the position of president. The league was the first structure in 2004 to argue that the ANC’s leadership tradition dictated that the deputy president become the automatic choice for president, and it has since invested much time and energy in canvassing for Zuma.
The league is likely to propose secretary general Motlanthe as Zuma’s deputy, possibly indicating that it views Motlanthe as the next president after Zuma. His nomination places Motlanthe firmly in the Zuma camp, despite his own attempts to stay above the fray and provide neutral leadership in the fierce battle for control of the party.
Motlanthe’s name has been thrown in the ring as a possible compromise candidate if both Zuma and Mbeki do not stand. For the position of deputy secretary general, the league is likely to propose Parliament’s Speaker, Mbete, who displayed public solidarity with Zuma during his trials.
The league is considering sports minister and former Eastern Cape Premier Stofile for the position of national chairperson. Stofile told the Mail & Guardian that he was unaware of any nomination, but added that he would serve the ANC in any capacity it decided on. Earlier, Stofile served as ANC treasurer general and has been on the NEC since the ANC’s unbanning in 1990.
”I have been active in ANC structures for more than 30 years and if people see something in me that can help reshape our party, which is currently in bad shape, who am I to question their motives? But I know it won’t be easy to be there because when things go wrong, you are left alone.
”But whoever is doing the lobbying must first look at the ANC, identify the problems and decide on the remedies. But I have never said no to the ANC, even in my current position. In 2004 I was top of the Eastern Cape candidates list, but the ANC said ‘No, we don’t want you there but in national.’ I did not question the decision,” Stofile said.
Phosa, although not always considered a member of the Zuma camp, has for the past year or so spoken out in NEC meetings, where he has openly confronted Mbeki about problems in the party. In particular, he singled out the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for criticism.
He suggested that the independence of the NPA had been compromised by ”political affiliations and party politics”. The NPA is a popular punching bag for the youth league, Cosatu and the SACP.
A league insider told the M&G that Mantashe’s elevation to party chair at the recent SACP congress had made things difficult for the league. But he added that there was an indication from some SACP leaders that they would be prepared to make Mantashe available for ANC duty.
Mantashe has been a favoured candidate of the left — which failed to get him elected to the NEC in Stellenbosch in 2002.