Former ANC KZN secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli’s ambition of becoming the ruling party’s secretary-general is likely to be put on ice, as the province pushes for Zweli Mkhize to become party president when delegates gather for the ruling party’s elective conference at Nasrec in Gauteng next month.
Ntuli, who has been nominated by a number of branches for party secretary-general, is likely to be sacrificed as the province does not want to be perceived to want to dominate the top six positions with the president and secretary-general (SG), a position regarded as the engine of the party machinery.
“The fact is other provinces will also want to secure key positions and we will have to sacrifice the SG position for the presidency for which we have nominated Comrade Zweli,” said an ANC member from Moses Mabhida Region.
Mkhize has emerged as a strong candidate for ruling party president with several regions in the province throwing their weight behind him.
ANC regional secretaries yesterday converged at the provincial headquarters in Durban, this as part of tallying up the nominations in order to get a consolidated report which gives a clear indication of KZN’s position and its preferred presidential candidate.
While secretaries remained mum on the preferred name for party leader, party members from different regions confirmed that they had nominated the former KZN premier for president.
His nomination means that he is now set for a bruising encounter with incumbent ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa along with the National Executive Committee member Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma for the top position.
With the elective conference just weeks away, the ANC presidency is likely to be a three-way tie in what will be a repeat of the 2017 contest.
An ANC insider said Dlamini Zuma was also likely to be sacrificed in order to ensure that KZN secures the party presidency.
While some regions were completing branch meetings yesterday to nominate their preferred candidates ahead of the deadline, many party members across the province, including in key regions of eThekwini and Moses Mabhida –
Mkhize’s home region – were said to have endorsed the former health minister.
Another ANC branch member from Moses Mabhida said they were convinced that Mkhize was the man to save the ANC from its current position of dwindling electoral support.
He cited the fate of unpaid ANC staff members at the party’s headquarters at Luthuli House as an illustration of how badly things had gone under Ramaphosa’s leadership.
An ANC member from the General Gizenga Mpanza Region, which includes Stanger and Ndwedwe, said they had nominated Mkhize, but admitted that the contest had been tough, alleging that the faction backing Ramaphosa had “used a lot of money”.
When approached for comment yesterday ANC provincial spokesperson Mafika Mndebele said that he was in a Provincial Executive Committee meeting.