DURBAN - THE brief court appearance of former Durban mayor Zandile Gumede yesterday provided a perfect platform for her faction to campaign for the ANC eThekwini region elective conference, with many of her backers boldly declaring their readiness “to rescue the region”.
They vowed that no amount of delaying tactics, including “manufactured criminal charges”, would stop Gumede from becoming the regional chairperson.
Gumede made a brief appearance in the Durban High Court for her corruption case yesterday.
“We have noted the synergy between court cases and elective conferences but we will not be deterred by such tactics, we are moving forward because victory is certain,” said Musa Nciki, a regional secretary candidate from the Gumede faction.
Nciki told the crowd of supporters outside court that they were concerned about what they regarded as a concerted campaign to tarnish Gumede’s image.
Gumede is up against current eThekwini Council speaker Thabani Nyawose, who is part of the Rebuild Renew and Unite (RRU) grouping which is believed to be favoured by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Nciki accused the RRU faction of delaying tactics, saying they had wanted the conference to be held a long time ago, but their efforts had been thwarted.
In addition, he alleged that the RRU was using money to convince other party members to side with them.
“We have learnt that all of a sudden there are jobs available at the municipality, and we have also learnt that there is plenty of money that is exchanging hands. Our advice to you comrades is take the money but vote wisely at the regional conference,” Nciki told Gumede’s supporters.
The Gumede faction believes that it has covered all corners of the region to garner support, adding that the conference victory was a mere formality.
“We have been to branches and we have presented our vision and branches have endorsed it and that is why we are not afraid because we are not imagining the support of branches and delegates, but we have something that is tangible. We dare them to reveal their numbers” Nciki said.
He noted that aside from ANC branches, their group had been endorsed by the ANC Women’s League, the Youth League and the South African National Civics Organisation.
With the campaign reaching its climax, Nciki said they were focusing on consolidating their support ahead of the conference.
“We are in no mood for talks and any form of negotiation will take place after the conference once we have our new chairperson,” Nciki said.
One of Gumede’s key backers, Njabulo Mchunu, expressed his concern about the divisions in the ruling party in the region, citing the fragile pact that the party had entered into in order to cling on to power in the eThekwini Municipality.
“Our fear is that if the ANC is not united, the city could be gone and that would be a major setback for us because eThekwini provides a platform where the ANC can deliver services and show its capacity to everyone across the province,” he told The Mercury.
While many of the supporters had hoped that Gumede would address them, she was whisked away immediately after the case was adjourned. The case will now go to trial on July 18.
Nyawose’s supporters were equally confident that they would come out tops at the conference, citing a number of engagements it had had with party members from different parts of the region.
“We have had meetings with branches and then individual members from the branches and that is why we are quite sure that the conference is ours,” said Ncami Nyawo, one of Nyawose’s backers.
Asked about the allegations made regarding money being used to influence delegates going to the conference, Nyawo denied any wrongdoing.
“Obviously when you have to call people to gather for a meeting at a venue you need airtime, and for them to be at the venue there will be a need to provide transport and such items have costs attached to them. If that is the charge of us using money then we are guilty. But we are certainly not bribing anybody for their vote,” she insisted.
This weekend the two factions were expected to conduct a headcount of the delegates who would be attending the conference as part of consolidating their campaign.
The much awaited elective conference, which had been originally planned for this weekend was now expected to sit on the second weekend of April.
ANC KZN spokesperson, Nhlakanipho Ntombela, said they were still waiting for the report from the party’s national headquarters, Luthuli House on the status of branches.
EThekwini is the ANC’s biggest region in KwaZulu-Natal and largely influences who will become leaders in the provincial structure of the ruling party.
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