By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Former president and ANC electoral committee chair Kgalema Motlanthe announced NEC nominations ahead of the ANC 55th National Conference.
The ANC NEC is the party’s highest decision-making structure between conferences, and those who sit in it get to shape the party’s political direction.
The announcement of the nominations came a little over a week after the ANC top six nominations were announced, where the embattledPresident Cyril Ramaphosa was nominated for a second term as president with 2037 nominations followed by former health minister Zweli Mkhize with 916 nominations.
Acting secretary general Paul Mashatile leads nominations for deputy president with 1791, followed by Ronald Lamola with 427, and Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane with 397.
The 55th National Conference of the ANC is set to take place from December 16 to 20 2022 at Nasrec where the new leadership of the ANC will be elected.
Former ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial chairperson Sihle Zikalala topped the nomination list with 1 447 nominations.
Zikalala lost out on his second attempt at leading the ANC in KZN earlier this year.
He subsequently resigned as premier and was appointed as an MEC. His inclusion at the top of the list comes amid questions about his move from the province to the national echelons of the ANC.
Gigaba, tainted in the controversy surrounding the state capture commission report and his close ties to the Gupta family, received the second highest nominations.
The former home affairs minister received 1366.
Gigaba was touted as a possible ANC leadership candidate during the ANC’s nomination season, but he did not make the threshold required.
His second nod on the NEC list speaks to his continued popularity in the ANC.
His popularity remains, despite the state capture allegations that he was active in assisting the Gupta family when he served as a government minister.
Also on the ANC NEC nomination list is former ANC Youth League leader Andisa Lungisa, whose status as an ANC Eastern Cape provincial executive committee (PEC) member remains in question.
The former Nelson Mandela Bay councillor received 1 013 nominations.
Lungisa has faced numerous controversies in the ANC, including his short prison stint for assault in 2020. He led a failed bid to be elected as provincial treasurer in the Eastern Cape in May.
Other names who have made the ANC top 10 list include David Masondo, Fikile Mbalula, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, Ronald Lamola, former Gauteng premier David Makhura and Thoko Didiza.
Motlanthe said the vetting process for those who did not qualify to contest ahead of the December conference was ongoing.
ANC spokesperson, Pule Mabe meanwhile admitted the latest developments on Phala Phala dealt the party a reputational blow.
“I must admit that any issue that presents itself negatively in the public, involving the ANC or its own leaders, and the matter of Phala Phala does affect the brand ANC. We have spoken about just how much this issue affects the credibility and standing of the ANC.”
Blocking media from asking Motlanthe any questions about the Phala Phala saga during media briefing, Mabe called on the public to allow the NEC the space to deliberate on the matter.
A special NEC meeting that was initially scheduled to take place virtually on Thursday evening has been moved to Friday and is expected to take place at the Nasrec Expo Centre at 11am.