DURBAN - ANC leaders in KwaZulu-Natal who support Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, have called for the party’s leadership succession race to be opened because deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa and his supporters are discussing it in “dark corners”.
Addressing hundreds of Christian followers and ANC supporters in Durban party chairman Sihle Zikalala said it was high time the national executive committee (NEC) opened the succession debate.
The gathering of church leaders from various denominations at People’s Park in Durban had been meant to pray for President Jacob Zuma, who was also in attendance, to be protected from his adversaries in and outside the ANC.
The NEC had late last year put a lid on the debate, saying that members should focus on matters to be discussed during the party’s national policy conference next month.
However, Zikalala, whose leadership structure supports Dlamini Zuma to replace Zuma, said the debate “should just be opened once and for all”.
“It is high time the NEC released structures of the ANC to discuss the leadership issues. If the leadership issues are not discussed openly, we will continue to have senior leaders and national officials dividing provinces by addressing cadres’ forums, which are outside the framework of the organisation, at night,” he said.
The ANC in the province last week lashed out at deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa for addressing a cadres’ forum in Newcastle without informing the province.
The province had also been annoyed when Ramaphosa and former KZN premier Senzo Mchunu visited a Shembe church gathering in Empangeni on the north coast, to seek prayer. They had interpreted this as Ramaphosa’s campaign towards the ANC national conference.
During the prayer, eThekwini regional secretary Bheki Ntuli said that the biggest ANC region in the country had endorsed Dlamini Zuma as the next president.
However, Zikalala said he would not concur with Ntuli until the NEC opened the leadership debate.
“But what eThekwini region is saying makes sense to me,” he said.
Zikalala outlined reasons why Zuma had become the target within the ANC, and among opposition parties.
He said Zuma had created enemies by calling for radical economic transformation, which angered the monopoly capital “led by the DA”.
“They are too angry and they are launching war against the ANC, and they are starting by targeting the president as the head of the ANC,” he said.
Ntuli said the eThekwini region had decided who would be elected at the December conference.
“As the region we will fight until we break hands and feet, conducting door-to-door campaigns, because we want Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to occupy Mahlamba Ndlopfu (presidential residence in Pretoria),” Ntuli said.
Zuma called on Ramaphosa’s supporters, the SACP and Cosatu, to stay out of the ANC leadership debate and focus on solving their own problems
“We don’t hear them discussing the future of the workers, but they are busy discussing the ANC.
“Cosatu should focus on issues of the workers, SACP should focus on its own business and Sanco should stop dividing the country,” he said.