Durban- If ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize has deputy president ambitions, he will have to “steal” support from AU chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and give it to Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
It is understood that Dlamini-Zuma enjoys the lion’s share of support within the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, where the provincial executive committee and ANC Youth League have already declared that they would support her bid for the presidency.
The leadership of the ANC in KZN have also maintained their unwavering support for President Jacob Zuma.
Ramaphosa’s supporters in KZN said they needed Mkhize to sway support among ANC members in the province before the ANC’s elective conference in December next year.
Since he was elected treasurer-general in 2012 there have been reports that the former KZN premier stood a chance to be the next deputy president.
At that time, Mkhize was being touted for the position by Zuma’s supporters.
However, sources inside the ANC-led tripartite alliance said those who wanted Dlamini-Zuma to succeed her former husband had ditched Mkhize.
Instead he was now being lobbied for the party’s second-highest position by Ramaphosa’s camp.
Ramaphosa has received support from the South African Communist Party, the Young Communist League of South Africa and Cosatu.
In KZN, he also has the support of ousted former premier Senzo Mchunu and former mayor of eThekwini Municipality James Nxumalo, who are believed to have considerable support within the ANC in the province.
Supporters of Ramaphosa in KZN said Mkhize was being considered because he was still popular in his home province, and had the potential to sway support away from Dlamini-Zuma to Ramaphosa.
“He is a doctor of managing KZN, which is why he is managing both factions in the province.
“But I don’t think that many people know him very well outside the province,” said an SACP leader and Ramaphosa supporter.
The leader said the support that Mkhize enjoyed in the province would come in handy for Ramaphosa.
“There are people within Ramaphosa’s camp who want him (Mkhize) to be deputy president. Their support for him depends on how many people he would bring along to vote for Ramaphosa. If he brings a large number he will definitely get the position because numbers matter,” said the source.
Another Ramaphosa backer said Mkhize had pushed for certain people to be included in the provincial executive committee (PEC) during the party’s provincial conference early this year.
“He (Mkhize) is the one who put some people in the PEC when they were sidelined. So there is no way that they would turn against him,” the source said.
The source added that Mkhize also enjoyed support in some of the other provinces, which would be required for Ramaphosa to trump Dlamini-Zuma.
“Some of them say in public that they support Nkosazana, but they know in private that they support Ramaphosa,” said another ANC insider.
Another source within the tripartite alliance said Mkhize was fighting for political survival.
“He speaks to both parties. Right now he speaks to Dlamini-Zuma and Ramaphosa,” said the source.
Dlamini-Zuma’s main backer, ANCYL KZN secretary Thanduxolo Sabelo, said Mkhize had a right to contest for any position in the party.
“Nobody has a right to tell him on which side he should stand,” he said.
ANC provincial spokeswoman Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said the party’s national executive committee had banned members from discussing issues of leadership.
Attempts to get hold of Mkhize were unsuccessful. The ANC head office is closed for the festive season.