‘Zuma shouldn’t even consider chair position’ – analyst

ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial spokesperson Mafika Mndebele says they are standing by Zweli Mkhize as their candidate for party president despite Jacob Zuma’s appeal yesterday for Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to be considered.

Mndebele said they were not worried about Mkhize being charged and forced to step aside, as per the ANC resolution, for his alleged involvement in the Digital Vibes saga. “Those who are nominating Cyril Ramaphosa, who is embroiled in a much bigger scandal, are they not worried? There’s not even an investigation against Mkhize and that is what the Hawks said.

“We shouldn’t be speaking about our candidate because you guys in the media want to paint the incoming president of the ANC, Mkhize, in a particular manner. “Everyone, when they speak about Mkhize, they speak about Digital Vibes and there’s nothing that links him. We have no fear about Zweli Mkhize.”

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Zuma also put himself in line for election as the ANC’s chair, but Mndebele said: “The branch es of KwaZulu-Natal have overwhelmingly said we must support Stanley Mathabatha as the national chair.” He added that there was no bad blood between them and Zuma. “[Zuma] is someone we go to from time to time for advice.

“However, to use corporate language, our bosses are our branches, the consultation of our branches was overwhelmingly clear. We can’t do or pronounce anything that those whom we lead at their behest have said to us.”

He said they did not believe Zuma has lost support in the province as they also stood with him.

Zuma’s new political ambitions

Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said Zuma should not even consider the chair position. “What he is riding on is a wave of regret and sense of apology by ANC members for how he was treated,” Seepe said. “The road to December is going to be treacherous; it is going to be full of problems.

“With Mkhize, it is almost like they are daring the Special Investigating Unit [SIU]. “He has gone to court and said ‘charge me if you have a case’. “I think they are very serious about him being a formidable candidate for the position of president.

“They are also aware of the issues with the SIU. “They are taking the position that conferences might challenge the step-aside rule.” Seepe said the KZN provincial executive committee (PEC) believes Mkhize stands a better chance of winning than Dlamini-Zuma.

“It may be that they support both Dlamini-Zuma and Mkhize but they think NDZ stands a lesser chance of winning. “What the former president is doing is saying, it is also possible that Mkhize might be removed through the step-aside rule,” he said.

He said the step-aside rule was being used as a mechanism to prevent people from contesting for positions in the ANC. “The national executive committee [NEC] of the ANC is only effective between conferences.

Once they go to conference, the NEC ceases to exist and the branches can decide on their own. “The branches can simply do away with the step-aside rule. “If the conference decides to scrap the step-aside rule and someone nominates Ace Magashule from the floor, you will see the support he will get.

“Ramaphosa is getting support now because he is in a powerful position but before then, many were not going to act.” Another political analyst, Ralph Mathekga, said Zuma should not be underestimated as the branch- es vote at the conference.

“If he is available, he could create an upset,” he said. “If Mkhize was charged and forced to step aside, the KZN PEC would be forced to support Dlamini-Zuma. – lungam@citizen.co.za