Johannesburg - ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule was reported to have been praised when Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela delivered her state of the province address on Tuesday morning.
Bloemfontein Courant reported that Ntombela started her address by praising her predecessor, Magashule, for facilitating 46 young people to study medicine in Cuba during his term of office.
Reports say that Ntombela said, while looking at Magashule, that his "seeds are ready to be harvested".
In what could be seen as the revival of the NDZ faction, which was defeated when President Cyril Ramaphosa won against Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma at the 2017 ANC Nasrec elective conference, Magashule’s name was also praised when a large group of people gathered at OR Tambo International Airport at the weekend to welcome former president Jacob Zuma from Cuba where he had been receiving medical treatment.
Addressing Zuma supporters, ANC Free State provincial chairperson Sam Mashinini defended a poster that had the words “Hands Off Ace Magashule”.
”Every member has a right to express his views about a leader. Magashule is a leader of the ANC and we support him here.
”Whoever is targeting the SG (Ace Magashule) is not going to win the battle, remember he was elected at a conference and that’s why members who spoke at the conference are the ones that are here,” Mashinini said.