Ntuli the ideal person to unite ANC – ‘He does not believe in factionalism’

If nominations are anything to go by, the ANC’s former KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli – the man some in his province tried to pull down – could be the next ANC secretary-general.

With 1 225 nominations from party branches under his belt, Ntuli is ahead of fellow nominees, Fikile Mbalula (749) and Phumulo Masualle (889).

Nominations were a clear indicator of the popularity of a candidate, although even former president Kgalema Motlanthe avoided that topic when he made the announcement at Luthuli House yesterday.

‘Open-minded’

ANC sources in KZN said Ntuli was the ideal person to unite the ANC and bring the province into the fold of renewal.

“Whether Cyril [Ramaphosa] returns or not, Mdumiseni will be useful as ANC secretary-general to break factionalism in the ANC. He does not believe in factionalism,” the source said.

Unlike others in the province, Ntuli was seen as open-minded and not crazy about his support for former president Jacob Zuma, something some mistook for hating the former president.

Political analyst Dr Levy Ndou said although anything could happen, there would probably be no drastic change in the final picture.

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Some were expected to drop out of the race for fear of facing humiliating defeat, but others would go ahead and fight it out anyway.

Horse-trading is expected.

“Some may drop from the rails but there will be others, like Zweli Mkhize, who will not give up, despite the margin of nomination [for president] being so big.

“However the branches have spoken…”

Ntuli knows nitty-gritty of the job

Ntuli, 43, who was demoted from the powerful provincial secretary position to an additional member in the PEC at the last provincial election, was born in KwaXimba in the influential eThekwini region. His ward 1 ANC branch is biggest in eThekwini with 4 000 members and it often has about 10 delegates at conferences.

He obtained a bachelor’s degree in politics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he was elected president of the Student Representative Council.

This explained why he was so good and respected in the articulation of ANC policies and in political discourse in general.

His slow rise to being a contender for the ANC’s most powerful position could see Ntuli becoming boss not only of KZN but party structures countrywide.

As former provincial secretary, some believe he has one foot already on the secretary-general position as he knows the nitty-gritty of the job.

His impressive performance in the nomination process was credited to his lobbying in different provinces.

He won the backing of the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and about 400 branches in KZN.

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