Durban — With three days to go to the much-anticipated 55th ANC elective conference in Johannesburg, Dr Zweli Mkhize’s campaign has received another shot in the arm with the announcement by his Eastern Cape lobbyists that he was guaranteed votes from 268 delegates from the province which has been traditionally known for backing President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Mkhize was informed of the good news by his lobbyist in the province, Nzama Nondlevu, after addressing an ANC cadres forum which was attended by, among others, 40 delegates from the OR Tambo region.
Nondlevu said contrary to the reports that the Eastern Cape was Ramaphosa’s base, Mkhize has nearly halved his (Ramaphosa’s) support and was guaranteed 268 votes from delegates who have already committed to ensuring his victory during the recent headcount.
This meant out of 659 delegates the province will be sending to the conference on Thursday, only 391 would be available for Ramaphosa and other presidential candidates that may rise from the floor when the nominations process opens. The Eastern Cape has the second biggest number of delegates after KwaZulu-Natal. For any candidate to win, these two provinces are crucial.
“We are clear in our region we want change, and that change would come in the form of comrades Zweli Mkhize as the president and Phumulo Masualle as the secretary-general. We have worked hard, as you can see that we have nearly halved the total number of delegates from the province,” said Nondlevu.
A delegate who attended the event but asked not to be named said campaigning does not stop in the ANC but continues while comrades are queueing to vote, so even with the remaining delegates, there was no guarantee they would all vote for Ramaphosa.
Buoyed by his surprise scooping of the Free State from Ramaphosa on Sunday, Mkhize continued with the charm offensive on Monday, wooing delegates to his side from the Eastern Cape and Gauteng, which are known traditional strongholds of the current president, who is seeking a second term.
Addressing scores of party faithful at Bhekizulu Hall in Mthatha, Mkhize continued to emphasise the implementation of party resolutions taken at the conferences, which he said has been the problem which resulted in the failures in government.
“We must implement ANC resolutions and policies in order to unlock the potential of our country. We must make resources for the state to defeat poverty, create jobs and reduce inequality. It is the ordinary members of society that must benefit from the government of the day, not a selected few.”
He saluted ANC members for wanting to learn more about the heroes of the Struggle and leaders of the movement, adding that it would help them to develop a sense of purpose and contextualise their involvement in the ANC.
“Learning about the pathfinders of our freedom will help promote patriotism and love for the people. We must emulate them and become servants of the people.
“It is up to us to ensure that this organisation that we inherited remains a vehicle for transformation. The ANC government must therefore ensure good governance and efficient delivery of basic services such as electricity. This is what people go out to cast their votes for. These must continue to be provided speedily and efficiently. In doing so, we would have ensured that the ANC improves the quality of life,” said Mkhize.
From the Eastern Cape he flew to Gauteng to address delegates in Soweto, where he wrapped up his campaign. He was commended for campaigning outside his home province of KZN by political analyst Professor Bheki Mngomezulu, who said he should not be wasting time preaching to the already repentant.
Daily News