The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is adamant that the party's succession battle will not feature in its four-day national general council meeting, which starts in Johannesburg on Thursday.
ANCWL spokesperson Charlotte Lobe on Wednesday said they would discuss the issue of leadership and the calibre of leaders needed in the organisation, but this would not include the battle for the presidency.
"The concept of succession is foreign to the structures of the ANC. We will discuss the team that will lead the ANC, but not one person," said Lobe. She said the conference would discuss issues relevant to the party as a whole so that it could make valuable contributions to two crucial ANC conferences this year.
The previous month former ANCWL president Winnie Madikizela-Mandela raised eyebrows when she announced that she would back Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to become the next president.
Dlamini-Zuma is a member of the ANCWL's national executive committee and the chairperson of the league in KwaZulu-Natal.
But Lobe said even this would not be on the agenda.
Recently ANCWL president Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula accused the media of "running around like headless chickens" as it reported on the succession battle in the ANC.
Lobe said they would thrash out the finer details of a proposed women's fund. The ANCWL suggested that the fund be kick-started with a once-off voluntary tax from all South Africans. This money would then be used to assist women.
SA President Thabo Mbeki is expected to address the NGC on Friday. - Political Bureau