ANC in KZN confident Zweli Mkhize will be the party’s new president

The ANC’s KwaZulu-Natal leadership remains confident that former Health minister Zweli Mkhize will emerge victorious in the upcoming ANC national elective conference.

This despite some ANC branches endorsing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s second-term bid.

The ANC KZN provincial executive committee (PEC), which wants Mkhize to be elected party president in December, has endorsed former Gauteng premier Paul Mashatile, who is likely to contest the party’s deputy president position, and current Limpopo premier Stanley Mathabatha, who will be vying for the ANC national chairperson position.

With some of the ANC KZN branches going against the PEC’s decision, particularly on the position of deputy president and national chairperson, ANC provincial spokesperson Mafika Mndebele on Friday assured branches in the province that it is the slate endorsed by the PEC which will emerge at the conference.

While the majority of the ANC KZN branches, that have concluded their nomination processes have endorsed the PEC’s decision that Mkhize should contest the party’s president position, some have endorsed Ramaphosa’s second-term bid, while others indicated that they want former AU chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to contest the top position.

On the position of national chairperson, some KZN branches have endorsed former president Jacob Zuma’s candidacy.

Mndebele said the PEC will not “punish” those branches that went against the KZN leadership’s slate.

“We respect their position — they are exercising their democratic right. However, what we will not tolerate is any conduct that scandalises the position of the PEC.

“For example, we won’t allow a situation where people use social media to attack any of the candidates endorsed by the PEC.”

Mndebele was speaking a few days after the release of what is believed to be the official candidate slate of Ramaphosa’s camp.

The slate has Ramaphosa as the ANC presidential candidate, former KZN premier Senzo Mchunu as deputy president, and current Transport minister Fikile Mbalula as candidate for the ANC secretary general position.

The Ramaphosa camp’s slate, which is currently circulating on social media, excludes the names of prominent ANC members who were in previous slates.

Names missing from the latest Ramaphosa camp slate include former KZN ANC provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli, who is vying for the party’s secretary general position, and Mathabatha.

While the Ramaphosa camp is yet to confirm whether the latest slate has been approved by the president’s camp, a source linked to the Ramaphosa camp confirmed to Weekend Witness that the slate currently doing the rounds is the “official position” of the camp.

“It was compiled during a recent meeting held by the national caucus.”