DURBAN - SUPPORTERS of former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede believe that her failure to clinch a nomination from her own ward does not constitute a setback for her campaign to become the ANC’s eThekwini regional chairperson.
This comes after she scored three out of four branch nominations for the regional chairperson position in branch executive committee meetings held over the weekend.
Ward 53 which constitutes Amaoti, which has been Gumede’s turf for years, rejected her as well as her backers on the branch executive committee and instead nominated Thabani Nyawose for the position of regional chairperson.
However, Ntando Khuzwayo – one of the frontmen in Gumede’s campaign for re-election, said Ward 53’s rejection would not affect her campaign.
“Look, the campaign to have comrade Zandile back at the helm of the region is moving full steam ahead, we regard what happened on Saturday as just a minor setback which does not constitute a train smash,” said Khuzwayo.
He told The Mercury yesterday that they were inspired by the support she had received from Ward 26 which is made up of Durban South and North Beach, Ward 55 which includes Inanda and Ward 69 which includes Mobeni.
“This is clear evidence that people believe in her leadership and what she stands for and for us that matters more than what happened in Amaoti,” Khuzwayo said.
He said despite signs that there was overwhelming support for Gumede, they were taking nothing for granted and would accelerate their campaigning activities.
Khuzwayo, a ward councillor who has been at the forefront of Gumede’s campaign, would not be drawn into commenting about alleged tension that erupted at one meeting over the weekend.
The Mercury has been informed by a reliable source that on Saturday the police had to be called to diffuse tension between rival supporters at a meeting in Ward 67.
“If the police had not arrived on time at the meeting, things would be totally different, the tension is high and it is clear that battle lines have been drawn and neither side wants to back down,” said the source.
Police were not available to confirm the incident in Ward 67, which is made up of Izwelisha, KwaHlongwa and Emansomini, however, ward councillor Makhosi Mbele said that there had not been any incident at the meeting
ANC provincial spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela said there had been no reports of violent incidents in any of the meetings held over the weekend.
He added that the Provincial Working Committee (PWC) would hold a meeting today to look at, among other issues, the state of readiness for the regions to hold elective conferences.
“We await the report from the Provincial Working Committee which will sit tomorrow (Monday) and then we will know which regions are ready for conferences,” added Ntombela.
The PWC meeting was expected to receive a report from a three-member committee sent by the ANC national office to conduct audit queries, and to determine which branches were credible and could be represented at elective regional conferences which were expected to sit from the first weekend of July.
The conferences would provide an indication as to who the ruling party was likely to field as mayoral candidates for the local government elections scheduled for October.
THE MERCURY