By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Siboniso Duma has condemned the behaviour of KZN delegates, who booed President Cyril Ramaphosa at the party’s elective conference.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ANC national elective conference at Johannesburg’s Nasrec Expo Centre, Duma said the conduct of the KZN delegates was not consistent with ANC values and traditions.
Shortly after the arrival of Ramaphosa at the ANC five-day conference venue on Friday afternoon, former president Jacob Zuma’s supporters, mainly from KZN, began chanting and singing anti-Ramaphosa songs.
At one point, ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe advised Ramaphosa to pause so that the protesting KZN delegates could be brought to order.
However, as soon as Ramaphosa resumed his speech, the booing and heckling continued.
Duma meanwhile criticised Mantashe’s handling of the situation.
“He thought that bully tactics would advance his space. It didn’t.
Zuma, who previously called on delegates not to allow Ramaphosa to deliver the political report, entered soon after the president started speaking, adding fuel to the rowdy KwaZulu-Natal delegates’ fire.
The ANC KZN’s practice of endorsing candidates from the province for the ANC president position has created perceptions that the province approached national conferences with a tribalistic agenda.
While Duma said the provincial leadership was still behind Zweli Mkhize, he made it clear that issues ranging from economic policy and power supply, which conference delegates will have to resolve on, were far more important that who gets elected party president.
“Yes, comrade Zweli Mkhize could still lead the collective, but the most important issues for us as KZN is the economic outlook, Eskom and other issues which affects our people on the ground,” he said.
The ANC had to transition from political power to economic power in order “to own the means of production”, he added.
Duma said he was very confident of this, as it was not only KwaZulu-Natal that would be supporting Mkhize and “Today [Saturday], we’ll have a smooth conference after the adoption of the credentials.”