Makhura says he wants no part of ‘Ramaphosa slate’ list

Gauteng Premier and ANC deputy provincial chairperson David Makhura on Tuesday criticised the circulation of a list of candidates said to be on Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa’s slate.

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In a statement released by the ANC in Gauteng on his behalf, Makhura distanced himself from the list, which includes names of people who could be elected to the ruling party’s highest decision-making body, the national executive committee (NEC) ahead of the party’s national elective conference set for December 16 to 20.

“I personally detest the politics of slates and strongly condemn divisive activities which undermine the effort to build a united ANC that serves the people of South Africa with distinction,” Makhura said.

He was responding to a report by the Gupta-owned New Age newspaper on Tuesday about the circulation of the list. Some of the names included in the list reportedly include ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize and former deputy secretary of the ANC Youth League Vuyiswa Tulelo.

Makhura dismissed the circulation of the lists as malicious, saying it went against the spirit of the NEC and the provincial executive committee. He also said it created an impression that those whose names appeared on the lists were involved in the discussion of President Jacob Zuma’s successor.

He has challenged the “faceless distributors” of the lists to stop using his name and those of other ANC leaders to cause division within the party.

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The list apparently made the rounds in ANC circles after the women’s league released a statement on Saturday on the eve of the party’s 105th birthday celebrations, endorsing outgoing African Union Commission chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as the ANC’s next leader.

The league also put forward other names it nominated to serve as part of the national top-six leadership.

“More than ever before, all of us are called upon to approach the 54th National Conference in a manner that enhances unity in order to enable the ANC to recover lost ground and win back the public confidence,” Makhura added.

He said slates, factionalism and corruption had no place in the 105-year-old liberation movement.