An atmosphere of excited anticipation took hold in a hot Polokwane, Limpopo province, on Saturday as thousands of delegates to the African National Congress’s (ANC) 52nd national conference arrived by bus, car and taxi.
Delegates of the ruling party and affiliated unions and organisations, observers and members of the media were directed to a cavernous airport hangar at the Polokwane International Airport just outside town to register for the conference.
Buses from all over the country jostled for space with large pedestrian groups of ANC supporters from various provinces. At the hangar, crowds gathered in the street outside, singing, dancing and chatting. As the day progressed, several ruling-party VIPs arrived to receive their accreditation, including Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, former intelligence director general Billy Masetlha and police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi.
However, the stars-to-be of the show, President Thabo Mbeki and ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma, did not put in an appearance, and their accreditation was picked up by their security officers. The two front-runners in the race for the ANC presidency were meeting international guests a dinner at Polokwane’s Meropa Casino on Saturday evening, the eve of the official opening of the conference. Proceedings begin on Sunday morning at 9am with a lengthy presentation by Mbeki.
The ANC has banned the wearing of factional T-shirts and other clothing at the conference venue, the University of Limpopo, but the registration hangar was a free-for-all for groups supporting either Mbeki or Zuma. Fans of the latter wore T-shirts reading ”100% JZ” and ”Fit to rule” — a stab at Ronald Suresh Roberts’s biographical book Fit to Govern: The Native Intelligence of Thabo Mbeki.
Songs in support of Zuma or Mbeki rang out periodically — including Zuma’s trademark Umshini Wami — with singers holding up placards bearing the face of their preferred candidate. Not even a sudden downpour could put an end to the demonstrations.
An array of ambulances stood ready to one side, though nothing more serious than an allergic reaction and forgotten medication was reported.
Also spotted at registration were National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete, who has been nominated for the post of party deputy secretary general; Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu; and ANC Women’s League deputy president Mavivi Myakayaka-Manzini. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who has tried to mediate between Zuma and Mbeki, was expected later on Saturday.
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was both cheered and booed when she entered the registration venue along with her Cabinet colleague Sydney Mufamadi. Dlamini-Zuma, who professes neutrality in the leadership race, is the Mbeki camp’s nominee for the post of deputy president of the party. The cheers and whistles came from Mbeki supporters; the boos from the Zuma camp.
The same treatment was meted out to Mlambo-Ngcuka and Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool. The deputy president, upon leaving the registration hangar, looked away from the group of ANC supporters that was booing her and, when seeing a group that supported her, waved at them.
Supporters out in force
”We came here around 2pm all the way from Port Elizabeth,” said Siphe Khambi, wearing a ”100% Zuma” T-shirt. Khambi and her friend Marsha Marais, both 22 years old and members of the ANC Youth League in Port Elizabeth, said they were ”pushing for the position of presidency to be Zuma’s”.
Nomawethu Tole, also from Port Elizabeth, told the Mail & Guardian Online that she would not wear her T-shirt in support of Zuma ”until the results come out. And if Zuma doesn’t win, then South Africa will turn into Zimbabwe.”
Mothibi Matsosoe, a voting delegate from the Matikoane region of the Free State province, said that he came to the conference to listen to issues that are far more important than the succession. ”I came to the conference for the policy of the ANC more than the leadership, because at the end of the day the ANC wins. This is more about the party than it is about the individual,” he said.
Magaseng Phahlana, a voting delegate from Skhukhune region in Limpopo, said that he would carry out the branch mandate, which is ”to vote for Msholozi [Zuma]”.
”I have reached political maturity and I will not be lobbied into voting for someone who I have no intentions of voting for,” he said, adding that his vote would be secret even though he is a Zuma fan.
Lulama Taleni, from the Amathole region of the Eastern Cape said that he didn’t want to act in any manner that was unsuitable for the ANC conference. ”This event must get maximum respect that it deserves. This means that I and all the delegates from Amathole region will not behave in any manner that promotes factionalism and that divides the party because the matter of the winner of leadership is interesting, but it is not critical,” he said.
British high commissioner Paul Boateng, dashing off after collecting his diplomatic observer’s registration card, said the international community cannot help being interested in the ANC’s conference. ”The ANC is the oldest and well established political party in the world with a long-standing commitment to democracy. The meeting in Polokwane is of high interest to the United Kingdom and its people,” he said.
The event is also of interest to those living in and around Polokwane. Although the conference has brought thousands of extra visitors to the city over an already busy period, residents said they felt safer with the hundreds of extra police in town, and many have landed temporary jobs associated with the conference.
Apart from the much-anticipated leadership election, the conference will also tackle the party’s positions on socio-economic policies, the media, gender and political issues. Voting for the top ANC positions is expected to start on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the ANC Youth League said on Saturday it was going to lay an official complaint with the electoral commission over reports that delegates were being intimidated by being told to prove how they had voted by taking a cellphone picture of their ballot paper.
The league, which supports Zuma for president of the party and country, said the conference should also discuss a way of ensuring a smooth transitional period if Zuma were to succeed Mbeki in the 2009 election.