Ramaphosa supporters ‘now gunning’ for ancestral province Limpopo

'It will be a shame for him to lose support on his own turf.'


In spite of having bagged much-needed votes in the recent ANC regional elective conference, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s supporters will not rest until they are sure they have full control of his ancestral province, Limpopo.

Some of Ramaphosa’s supporters said it was all hands on deck, hardly a day after they defeated their rivals in ANC polls at the Norman Mashabane ANC regional elective conference at the weekend.

ANC regional elective conference

This year, the Limpopo ANC announced that four of its regions, Norman Mashabane, Vhembe, Sekhukhune and Peter Mokaba, would go to their respective elective conferences to elect new ANC bigwigs to lead them for the next four years.

“We are now gunning for the Vhembe and Peter Mokaba regions. What is crucial about the two regions is that Ramaphosa may have been born and raised in Chiawelo, Soweto, in 1952, but the president finished his high school education in Venda, where his parents come from,” said Masilo Maloko, of the ANC’s Phusela branch in Tzaneen yesterday.

“It is, therefore, very important for him to win support mostly in that part of the province than anywhere in the country. This is so because Venda in Vhembe is his ancestral region. His grandparents come from Khalavha Village, in Nzhelele, outside Thohoyandou,” he said.

Winning for Ramaphosa

The other reason was that Peter Mokaba was the economic hub of Limpopo, home of the province’s capital, Polokwane. “It will be a shame for him to lose support on his own turf,” said Maloko.

“Come low or high waters, we are winning these regions for Ramaphosa.”

Now watch: ‘This is a problem’ – Ramaphosa lost without his iPad

Access premium news and stories

Access to the top content, vouchers and other member only benefits