Johannesburg - With hours to go to the opening of the floor nominations at the ANC national conference at Nasrec, Dr Zweli Mkhize’s campaigners are making a final push to get Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Lindiwe Sisulu to back ANC presidential hopeful Mkhize.
Sources close to all the camps told the Independent Media on Saturday that the camps met on Friday soon after the opening address by the president to discuss a merger.
A source backing Mkhize said the discussion centred around forging a united front against President Cyril Ramaphosa, but the bone of contention was the allocation of positions in the final and consolidated top six list. The source said all the camps were urged to prepare for compromises to ensure a geographically balanced top six.
Another Mkhize backer in Gauteng, Phapano Phasha, who is playing a major role in swaying numbers to Mkhize in the province, said the message they are taking to Dlamini-Zuma and Sisulu’s camps is that they must come together to defeat Ramaphosa and warning about serious implications if anti-Ramaphosa groupings go to the conference divided.
Independent Media was also informed that the unity committee which was said to be led by suspended secretary-general Ace Magashule, KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Siboniso Duma and former North West chairperson Supra Mahumapelo was expected to report back on the outcome of the merger talks before the floor nomination process starts later on Saturday.
Sisulu’s political adviser, Mphumzi Mdekazi, confirmed the talks and said his candidate had never had a problem with Mkhize so, depending on the concession made by others in the meeting, he did not see Sisulu declining to work with Mkhize.
Mdekazi said provinces had expressed concerns that KZN had jumped the gun in announcing its line-up, adding that the talks they were holding now should have been held before pronouncements to come up with a balanced list.
One of Mkhize’s lobbyists, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was currently at the same meeting and promised to come back to the publication soon after the meeting to give the outcome.
Speaking on SABC, KZN provincial chairperson Siboniso Duma confirmed that discussions were taking place between provinces around the issues of unity.
Daily News