Dlamini-Zuma snubs Ramaphosa’s request to meet – report

A senior political staffer was sent to arrange a meeting with Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma ahead of the ANC elective conference in December.

With less than a month to go before the conference, Dlamini-Zuma turned down Ramaphosa’s proposal which also comes on the back of his announcement of six leaders for key positions within the ANC.

According to Sunday Times, a source said the request for a meeting was actually a ploy to dislodge Dlamini-Zuma’s campaign as Ramaphosa’s camp had allegedly started spreading rumours stating their campaign was losing steam.

“It would have been made to appear that Mama Dlamini-Zuma did not enjoy support and she was going to negotiate for a place on her ticket,” a source said.

Meanwhile ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte endorsed Dlamini-Zuma’s campaign.

“The time has come for a leader who does not talk too much. We need a leader who will not talk too much. That leader is Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma,” said Duarte while addressing a crowd of about 5,000 people during the rally of the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) at the Solomon Mahlangu Stadium in KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga.

ANC Women’s League president Bathabile Dlamini also showed her support for Dlamini-Zuma and made a thinly veiled reference to Ramaphosa’s quest to become the next ANC president.

“There is someone who always says the deputy president of the ANC must be the next president of the party. We don’t know where this person got that from. Now is the time for a woman president,” she said.

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