Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has apparently thrown her weight behind leading businessman Tokyo Sexwale for the African National Congress presidency.
She is expected to share the stage with Sexwale at two political rallies in the Eastern Cape this weekend.
According to the Sexwale Eastern Cape-based campaign committee, Madikizela-Mandela has ”thrown her weight behind his bid for the ANC presidency”.
Madikizela-Mandela’s personal assistant declined to comment on Tuesday, asking that questions be faxed instead.
However, Madikizela-Mandela was not in the office on Tuesday and ”I don’t know when she’ll respond to your questions”, the assistant said.
Prominent Eastern Cape ANC figure and former Nelson Mandela (Port Elizabeth) metro mayor Nceba Faku — who is backing Sexwale — said he knew that ”they are coming together this weekend”.
Sexwale and Madikizela-Mandela are in contact virtually on a weekly basis, he said.
That and the fact that they will be sharing the stage this weekend would ”seem to confirm” that Madikizela-Mandela is backing Sexwale for the ANC presidency, Faku said.
Sexwale’s spokesperson Chris Vick was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday afternoon.
Madikizela-Mandela and Sexwale are billed as the main speakers at a rally in Mdantsane, East London, on Saturday, and another at the Mlungisi Community Hall in the Chris Hani district on Sunday.
Stronghold
Meanwhile, audited ANC membership figures have confirmed the Eastern Cape as the party’s strongest province, the Dispatch Online reported on Tuesday.
It said the latest official figures put the ANC’s Eastern Cape membership at 153 164.
KwaZulu-Natal has 102 742 members, Gauteng 59 909, the Free State 61 310, Limpopo 67 632, Mpumalanga 54 913, North West 47 353, the Northern Cape 37 267 and the Western Cape 36 947.
Nationally the ANC boasts a total of 621 247 members.
The Eastern Cape’s membership translated into 906 voting delegates from 467 branches, excluding 22 delegates from the provincial executive committee. This would give the province significant clout at the party’s national conference in Polokwane, Limpopo, in December, the Dispatch said.
Provincial secretary Siphatho Handi downplayed the importance of the membership, saying voting is not necessarily what the conference in Limpopo is all about.
”The conference is about building the ANC through clear policies … At the conference we will be able to discuss issues such as leaders and members of ANC.”
By virtue of their respective memberships, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are seen as the ”kingmakers” in the election of the party’s leadership at the conference.
The Eastern Cape wants President Thabo Mbeki to stand for a third term as ANC leader, while KwaZulu-Natal wants party deputy president Jacob Zuma to become its leader.
Handi said the nomination lists are not a foregone conclusion, hinting that an agreement over candidates between the provinces is a possibility. — Sapa