The race for the ANC throne looks set to be a most fiercely contested affair, with Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe throwing his hat into the ring.
As AU Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma looks set to focus her energy on her presidential ambitions after wrapping up her continental duties this week, she is likely to find that the contest is more intense and competitive than before. Radebe is the fourth candidate to enter the race after Dlamini Zuma, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and House Speaker Baleka Mbete.
The Sunday Independent has reliably learnt that high-level meetings have been held in recent days by those campaigning for Radebe in what is seen as the beginning of a strategy to counter his competitors.
A senior ANC member in Mpumalanga said Radebe had made his intentions clear and he was ready to be the next ANC president, and ultimately the state president in 2019.
“I can confirm that Bhungane (Radebe) has confirmed he is more than ready to assume the highest responsibility and position in the midst of the challenges that are facing the ANC,” said the source.
He said a group of ANC members from various provinces, except KwaZulu-Natal, met Radebe in Sandton this week, where he formally accepted the request to lead the party.
He said people at the meeting included those who had been fired from government positions because of “ANC infighting”.
“These people have some degree of public sympathy from certain quarters of the ANC. I am talking about people who are mayors, provincial speakers, former and current MECs and ministers,” the source said.
“We had that kind of a session with him. We want to run a clean and an above-board campaign, and our real message is we want to clean the ANC’s credibility with a candidate that would be accepted when we introduce him to the people.
“KwaZulu-Natal was not yet present, but we are communicating with the province. We will have the first official national core in the next few days.”
The Sunday Independent understands that the Radebe lobbyists were impressed with his performance at the ANC lekgotla at the weekend, when he used the platform to stake his claim to the throne. Radebe spoke just after President Jacob Zuma had presented his report to the lekgotla, where he spoke about the slow pace of economic transformation and the government’s sluggish service delivery progress.
Zuma was apparently in an uncompromising mood, even lecturing senior members about the problems besetting the ruling party in the face of stiff competition from opposition parties intent on exploiting the ANC’s weaknesses.
“The firmness of his address was almost scolding that you could hear a penny drop, that is how serious he was,” said an NEC member.
“There were two points to his address. The first was about the lack of discipline in the ANC. He said comrades must stop creating confusion and must stop this thing of raising names. He said the issue of raising names will come (at the appropriate time).”
However, Radebe’s lobbyists said his speech after Zuma was a master stroke that also swayed those who could be uncertain as to who to back among the other candidates.
“His presentation was very focused and clear. He talked about the strengths, the weakness in government which has been found wanting in its performance.
“Part of his recommendation was to say what must be done to fix some of these things. It appears that when he did that, in the backdrop of Zuma’s talk, then people started saying ‘okay, this is the person we are looking for’,” said the source.
“People began to say he understands the workings of government, he understands performance, he has been in government for such a long time and his portfolio is around performance and evaluation.
“Almost coincidentally, the fact that he spoke after Zuma created this second person. The fact that his presentation followed after the president, it gave this thing of seeing (him) as second to Zuma, even by virtue of how he followed on in terms of speaking. How his presentation was delivered in terms of the content of it, people were saying, ‘There is the guy’.”
The Sunday Independent understands that those backing Radebe were people who were not in favour of either Dlamini Zuma or Ramaphosa becoming president. It is understood that several underground meetings have been held.
“It (secret lobbying) started last December to analyse who else, besides Dlamini Zuma and Ramaphosa, would be better for the position,” said another source.
Another Radebe supporter said he has experience in government.
“Beyond that, the National Development Plan is in his office, so it would be a kind of regression for the ANC to overlook that particular individual.
“He is the voice of the government because when the cabinet is supposed to communicate with the public he is the one to convey the message.”
The ANC’s NEC has banned its structures from publicly lobbying for their preferred candidates to replace Zuma as the party has not yet opened the succession debate. However, this doesn’t appear to have deterred some of its members from speaking openly about their preferred candidates.
Radebe could not be reached for comment. The spokesperson for the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Tshegofatso Modubu, could not confirm or deny that Radebe attended the meeting apparently held in Joburg.
“I cannot confirm the allegations because I cannot verify this,” said Modubu.
Radebe backers said they had made it clear to him that he should not commit the same mistake as former president Kgalema Motlanthe, who played the reluctant president prior to the Mangaung elective conference.
“I don’t think there is reluctance on his part. For him it is about more substance, about understanding, watching and listening and being informed by facts and figures.
“He is engaged. It’s not a Motlanthe situation where he is reluctant and he is not looking for the limelight.
“He is well capable, he is Mr Fixit, and there is no ambivalence.”
The source said they were confident of Radebe’s credentials as a unifying figure who is not bound to any faction and did not carry any baggage.
“He is not perceived to be bound to any faction because he has remained as a senior government and ANC leader throughout the presidencies of Mandela, Mbeki, Motlanthe and Zuma.
“When people look at these things it is becoming clear - he hasn’t been part of the mudslinging,” the source said.