DURBAN - WITH the ANC KwaZulu-Natal elective conference just weeks away, another name has emerged for the position of provincial chairperson.
ANC Member of the Provincial Legislature Siboniso Duma’s name has been raised for KZN chairperson. While many people believe the competition for the position will be between current chairperson Sihle Zikalala and current provincial executive committee member Nomusa Dube-Ncube, Duma’s lobbyists have other ideas.
An ANC member from the eThekwini region said they had looked at the possible individuals who could lead the province, and were convinced Duma was the ideal candidate to succeed Zikalala.
ANC John Mchunu branch member Malusi Mchunu said they believed Duma possessed the qualities required to lead the ANC in the province, pointing to his experience in government over the years.
The Mchunu branch in eThekwini region is made up of parts of Pinetown, Sarnia and Westville, and the branch is named after the former regional chairperson.
The ANC member described Duma as an approachable individual with the right temperament.
“We are not talking to ourselves but have been engaging comrades across regions to explain why we think Mthombeni (Duma’s clan name) is ideal to lead the province. So now we wait to hear what comrades from the other parts of KZN are saying,” Mchunu said.
He admitted that they had a massive task in lobbying for their candidate, but stressed that they were willing to go to every corner of the province to convince fellow governing party members to endorse Duma.
The slate in which the MPL appears also features the likes of former Newcastle mayor Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba, and former eThekwini mayor and current eThekwini region chairperson Zandile Gumede.
Mchunu insisted that the branch was open to discussion about names that would form part of the slate, but stressed that Duma was their candidate for chairperson.
“The comrade has demonstrated his abilities and commitment to the ANC, and is grounded on party principles, and we really need an individual like that because it is going to be very difficult to campaign for the ANC in future owing to the challenges that we have faced in the past,” said Mchunu.
Other ANC members from the Moses Mabhida and Lower South Coast regions also expressed their support for Duma, who is the chairperson of committees in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature.
A governing party member in eThekwini who is close to Gumede confirmed that her name had been suggested for provincial treasurer in many parts of the province.
ANC provincial spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela said branches had started holding branch general meetings where they were discussing the names of candidates they preferred to form part of the leadership structure in the province.