DURBAN - The bid by Harry Gwala ANC regional chairperson Zamo Nxumalo to retain his position could be a battle after three leaders of his top five appeared on the opposite slate.
In 2018, Nxumalo and the current secretary, Sindisisiwe Msomi, were on the same slate, which was elected in the conference, but their relationship has since soured and both are vying for the position of chairperson in the upcoming regional conference.
In the slates, seen by the Daily News, Nxumalo is left with deputy secretary Zenzele Msomi, while Msomi (Sindisiwe) appears on the other slate with deputy chairperson Phumzile Nocanda and treasurer Les Stuta.
In Nxumalo’s slate, Msomi (Zenzele) will be contesting the position of secretary, while Nocanda will return as treasurer in Sindisiwe’s slate. Her camp also wants Stuta to be secretary.
Nxumalo lobbyist Mlungisi Mkhize told the Daily News on Sunday that Nxumalo would easily return as chairperson because many branches backed him for the position.
He said that in Kokstad, eight out of 10 branches were fully behind Nxumalo. Mkhize said that in Ixopo sub-region,where he came from, 90 to 100% of the branches wanted Nxumalo back.
Mkhize said that in Umzimkhulu, Nxumalo had the backing of 15 out of 22 branches, while in the Dr Nkosazana Dlamini sub-region, which includes Bulwer and Donnybrook, 11 out of 15 branches had thrown their weight behind him.
Bheki Nzimande, former ally of Nxumalo, who is lobbying for Sindisiwe, said Nxumalo was day dreaming if he thought he would return to the position of chairperson.
Nzimande, who is ward councillor in Buhlebezwe Local Municipality, which covers Ixopo and surrounding areas, said Nxumalo’s figures were wishful. He said his camp was misleading people by claiming such support.
Nzimande said most of the branches were yet to hold their meetings to elect their new leadership and nominate leaders for regional conference, so he did not know where Nxumalo was getting these figures from.
“They are counting their chickens before they hatch. Branches are yet to meet and nominate, so to calculate the support of the old branch leadership that supported you years ago was not genuine. If we are to calculate the current branches, I can tell you that in Umzimkhulu our camp has 17 branches out of 22,” Nzimande said.
He asked how Nxumalo would claim support from other branches when his branch was the only one that was won by an independent candidate.
In the Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma sub-region, where Sindisiwe comes from, sub-regional secretary Sifiso Zondi also said he did not know where Nxumalo’s camp got the figures it was claiming because branches had not yet met to nominate.
Kokstad sub-regional secretary, Thobeka Mngonyama, who supported Sindisiwe, said two out of 10 branches had held meetings so she also accused the other camp of counting its chickens before they hatched.
The region was marred by political killings in recent years, which included former ANC Youth League national secretary Sindiso Magaqa who was on Nxumalo’s slate for deputy secretary position in 2018.
Daily News