Seven branches in Pietermaritzburg endorse Zweli Mkhize

With the contestation for positions ahead of the ANC December national elective conference set to intensify in the coming days, seven branches in Pietermaritzburg’s Imbali township area have endorsed former health minister Zweli Mkhize.

Mkhize, who hails from Pietermaritzburg’s Willowfontein township, is one of the ANC members who will be contesting the party’s president position at the December elective conference.

In a meeting held in Willowfontein on Monday evening, the seven ANC branches — which form a zone — resolved to endorse Mkhize.

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ANC Willowfontein Ward 14 branch chairperson Sibusiso Mkhize, said the meeting of the seven branches was part of the programme to ensure that ANC branches in the Moses Mabhida region “spoke with one voice” ahead of the party’s national conference.

“Instead of being emotional about issues, we resolved to engage in a sober discussion where we assessed all the candidates who will be standing.READ MORENo end in sight for Eskom power crisis

“After our engagement, we agreed that comrade Zweli was so far the best among the candidates who are planning to contest the ANC top position.

“We looked at his track record from the time he was ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial chairperson, his achievements as treasury MEC, health MEC, premier and health minister.
We then reached the conclusion that his achievements put him in front of the pack in the ANC presidential race.”

Mkhize, who resigned as health minister last year amid the Department of Health’s Digital Vibes scandal, is currently a member of the ANC’s influential national executive committee (NEC).

Other ANC members who will be contesting the party’s president position include Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and the incumbent, President Cyril Ramaphosa.

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The meeting of the seven ANC branches took place ahead of yesterday’s deadline for ANC branches in the province to nominate their preferred candidates for the December elective conference.

In a memorandum sent to the ANC branches, the party’s provincial secretary, Bheki Mtolo, said the meetings were meant to provide party members with an opportunity to “objectively” assess the organisation’s candidates.

As the ANC in KZN, we wish to remind our structures that it is the branches that control the power and the future of this movement.
Therefore, it is for these reasons, as elected leadership, we want the branches to take charge and determine a new socioeconomic trajectory of this country — using the ANC as a vehicle.
We regard these meetings, to be held throughout all corners of the province, as festivals of ideas.

Unlike other ANC provincial leadership structures who have already picked their preferred candidates, the ANC KZN provincial executive committee (PEC) resolved that all the province’s branches determine who KZN’s preferred candidates would be.

Branches must identify, on their own, leaders who are best suited to perform these tasks. This is in line with the constitution of the organisation.
Critically, from time immemorial, the election of leadership has to be guided by the tasks they are elected to perform. It is therefore the time for the branches to engage robustly and openly on what tasks should be performed.

The results of the meetings called by the ANC provincial leadership were by late last night yet to be released.