Mashudu Sadike and Ntombi Nkosi
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal says it is confident that Dr Zweli Mkhize will close the ANC 55th elective conference at Nasrec next month as party president.
The process for branches to announce preferred contenders hoping to make the national executive committee (NEC) cut closed on Monday.
The conference takes place from December 16 to 20, and President Cyril Ramaphosa is being challenged by
Mkhize, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Lindiwe Sisulu for the position of ANC leader.
Independent Media recently reported Mkhize was backed by the ANC Youth League task team, while a divided Women’s League seems to support Ramaphosa, despite others calling for Dlamini Zuma’s name to be put forward.
ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo said they were confident Mkhize would be the country’s next president. Speaking to Independent Media yesterday, Mtolo said their confidence was “200%”:. there was no space for any doubt that he would win.
“About 95% of ANC branches have nominated Dr Zweli Mkhize. We are 200% confident that he will,” Mtolo said. He added that the endorsement of Mkhize by the ANCYL showed he was not just a leader in KZN but nationally.
“There are those who are reducing Mkhize to being a provincial leader, not remembering that he was elected into the ANC NEC in 2002, and he has been serving in that NEC since 2002.
“When Mkhize was elected the deputy chairperson for KZN, he was also directly elected as a member of the NEC. He has been serving in that NEC since 2002. He has been there as a national leader. That is why he has got contacts and respect from various provinces, because they know him as a national leader.”
Reports from the party’s KZN provincial executive committee meeting held in Durban this week show an overwhelming number of ANC branches in the province have given the former health minister the nod.
The Moses Mabhida Region, which houses Mkhize’s branch, has reported that 90 branches out of nearly 100 have endorsed Mkhize. KZN is expected to send the biggest number of voting delegates to Nasrec than any other province.
Putting the spanner in the works is the ANC in Limpopo. Despite the province having pronounced support for Ramaphosa, insiders believe this is a ploy to lead him on and for the province later to support Mkhize at the December conference.
Pretoria News