By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The biggest African National Congress (ANC) province – KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) failed to get a KZN candidate elected in the party’s top seven at the ANC elective conference.
This is the second conference where the province still needs to secure a leader as part of the national leadership.
After the horse-trading and lobbying for support from other provinces such as Limpopo, Gauteng and North West, KwaZulu-Natal – which backed ex-minister Zweli Mkhize for the presidency – boldly claimed victory in the run-up to nominations.
The provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo said the province and those who did not back President Cyril Ramaphosa have no choice but to rally behind the president’s second term.
“They have no choice but to accept. All of us are subjected to the leadership that has been elected,” Mtolo said following the election outcome.
On the province’s failure to have a leader elected as part of the top leadership, Mtolo said this was not an issue because no ANC rule dictated that a leader had to emerge from a specific province.
“There’s no law that says there must be a candidate that wins from KwaZulu-Natal.” Ramaphosa’s allies believe his election entrenched his authority over the party.
ANC NEC member and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said Ramaphosa’s return meant certainty for policy continuity.
“For the fact that we have elected the same president means we will ensure continuity in policy implementation, and that is a major achievement,” Godongwana said.
Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane, who contested the deputy president position in a slate aligned to Ramaphosa and lost to Paul Mashatile, said his loss was not disappointing because Ramaphosa had been elected as intended.
“I am not really disappointed. The outcomes show that we work better.”
Ramaphosa was our priority to return for the country, and he is back here. We wanted to strengthen that collective, and we have,” Mabuyane said.
Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola also congratulated Ramaphosa on his re-election for a second term.
He said the president would be seized with dealing with South Africa’s pressing socio-economic challenges for the next five years.
“We believe [Ramaphosa’s re-election] is good for the country, the programme of renewal [of the ANC], the economy, to deal with corruption and many other issues, including the challenge of electricity,” he said.
Mondli Gungubele, who led Ramaphosa’s campaign for a second term, was all smiles as he walked across the plenary floor at Nasrec, eager to share his perspective.
“I sense the rebirth of the ANC. That rebirth is a new hope for our people. Cyril has been given another mandate,” Gungubele said.
He seemed convinced that the ANC’s top leadership would be less divided, and he said he hoped the national executive committee (NEC) to be elected by Tuesday would reflect a power shift beneficial to Ramaphosa.