DURBAN - The long-awaited eThekwini ANC regional elective conference is expected to finally sit at the end of the month after branches reached the required 70% threshold.
This was revealed to the Daily News by the party’s regional task team co-ordinator Bheki Ntuli on Wednesday, who said branches had up until last weekend to finalise their branch general meetings, and by closing time, 79 branches had successfully met and nominated their preferred candidates for the top five positions, which would be up for grabs at the conference.
Ntuli said that out of 111 branches in the region, the party needed 78 to form a quorum so that the region could go to the conference.
“Since we have reached 70%, we are now preparing to hold our long-awaited conference at the end of the month,” said Ntuli.
He added that the party would soon announce the date and the venue. eThekwini is one of the six ANC regions which are due for an elective conference.
The others are Mzala Nxumalo, which is composed of Vryheid, Ulundi, Nongoma, and Pongola, Inkosi Bhambatha, which includes Greytown, Msinga, Dundee and Nquthu, Harry Gwala, which incorporates Kokstad, Mzimkhulu, Ixopo and Bulwer towns, as well as Lower South Coast, which covers Port Shepstone, Harding, uMzumbe (Hibberdene), and Umzinto.
All conferences were supposed to sit last year but could not due to, among others, Covid-19 regulations.
The branches were also expected to announce their provincial and national preferences since the province was already preparing for its elective conference ahead of the national conference in December.
Ntuli is on Thabani Nyawose’s slate as secretary, a position he held under Zandile Gumede while she was chairperson before the structure was disbanded by the provincial leadership.
Nyawose and Gumede are vying for the chairperson position in eThekwini. A win for Nyawose is expected to boost President Cyril Ramaphosa’s chances of returning to his position as ANC president at the national conference, while a win for Gumede would strengthen the radical economic transformation group’s chances.
Daily News