Mkhize said slate politics in the ANC started in 2002 but was not “highly emphasised”.
ANC treasurer general Zweli Mkhize is pushing for the party’s branches to unite behind the values of the ANC instead of its individuals, and said this could halt the ascendence of factional leaders to power.
A slate refers to candidates for contested positions being elected on the basis of their affiliation or support of another, leading candidate. Ahead of the ANC’s December conference, two dominant slates have emerged in support of the party’s deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa (CR17) and the former African Union commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (NDZ).
“Let’s move away from having a list that people must go and tick everyone and leave others out there. Let’s have an open process where each leader is chosen on the basis of qualities. There are people who may not necessarily be ready for leadership but get propelled on the basis of being on the right side of a slate,” Mkhize said at the the Mail & Guardian’s Critical Thinking Forum in Illovo on Wednesday.
The ANC treasurer’s unity ticket has received widespread support among ANC members. While he has indicated his availability to stand for the position of president, however, Mkhize’s name has been largely nominated in the position of deputy president.
Mkhize explained that his push for unity was an attempt to rid the party of people that use slates to hide their corruption.
“Once you have slates, you make it difficult for anyone to criticise another person who is part of that slate, because that’s where they get protection,” he said.
Last week, Ramaphosa announced the preferred team of leaders he hoped to be elected to the top six with. These includes NEC member Naledi Pandor as his deputy, former KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Senzo Mchunu as secretary general, Gwede Mantashe as national chairperson and Gauteng chairperson Paul Mashatile as treasurer.
Mkhize said he did not have a slate as he believed it was necessary to allow branches to assess leaders individually.
“Unity is an answer to fight the divisions and unite the organisation. So that when we go out there we are able to account to the people. But we are not saying when somebody does something, ‘we say we are united, hide this thing.’ No. It’s about being united against wrongdoing.”
He admitted to being “at the centre” of slate politics in the run up to the ANC’s 2007 Polokwane conference, but regretted it.
Mkhize said slate politics in the ANC started in 2002 but was not “highly emphasised”.
“I don’t hide the fact that I was also part of it and at the centre of it. You had to sit there and continue people in meetings. There was quite a lot of anger,” he said.
“When we looked back, one of the issues that stood out personally, was the amount of anger we had. But since we moved away from Polokwane, we suddenly realised this process that it is being cascaded to lower structures, people started running a slate in a branch,” Mkhize added.
He also said branches who nominated “unity” in Mpumalanga appeared to have abstained from indicating which candidate they preferred. Mpumalanga chairperson David Mabuza has reportedly issued an instruction to branches to write ‘unity’ on the nomination forms instead of their preferred candidates’ names.
READ MORE: It’s Ramaphosa vs ‘Unity’ in Mpumalanga ANC’s presidential nomination battle
“Premier Mabuza has been out there talking about issues of unity, and he also hosted chairs of the ANC to discuss the issue. It was a positive step and should happen more,” he said.
When asked by an audience member if he would prevent president Jacob Zuma from being charged or tried in court if he were to win the ANC presidential race and become the next head of state, Mkhize said “I don’t think I’ll have any special powers to create a dispensation which would be more powerful than the law.”
“As far as I’m concerned, let’s get things processed properly by the criminal justice system and into the courts, if issues arise, that’s where they should be taken,” Mkhize concluded.