TSHWARELO HUNTER MOGAKANE
MPUMALANGA Human Settlements MEC Speedy Mashilo, one of the forces opposed to Deputy President David “DD” Mabuza, has claimed that his faction will emerge at the provincial conference which kicked off at Emalahleni on Friday.
The Nkangala regional chairperson is a close ally of provincial conveyor Mandla Ndlovu, who has been the interim chair of the now disbanded interim provincial executive structure of the ANC.
In a video trending on Twitter, Mashilo is seen speaking from the back of a bakkie alongside his comrade, fired agriculture MEC Mandla Msibi.
Msibi was removed from his post as MEC after being charged with two counts of murder in the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court last year.
The move to fire him resulted in members of the dominant faction within the provincial cabinet taking sides by dumping Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane and siding with Msibi.
Combined with Msibi's numbers, Mashilo's support might bolster Ndlovu’s faction, known as ‘Focus’ as he is believed to bring considerable influence from the highveld.
Mashilo's flamboyant lifestyle came under the spotlight when he was allegedly robbed of R25 000 that he kept in cash in his car.
This happened during a hijacking that took place last year.
"These are guys who are always driving around with money. When you have so much money you can be confident of a win because when money speaks comrades listen," said an ANC leader who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Local media expert, Mbuso Thumbathi, stated that the provincial conference held national value.
"The future of the ANC will be determined by the outcome of this conference. It further speaks to the ambitions of individual leaders of the ANC, including the national officials. It speaks to the ambitions of notably three figures, namely, ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa, his Deputy David Mabuza and suspended ANC Secretary-General Elias 'Ace' Magashule," said Thumbathi.
Thumbathi warned that the winning faction will not automatically give its numbers to the expected national front runners.
"Magashule has been visiting Mpumalanga and giving food to the poor. He has a strong support base in the province, so nothing is a given. The winning faction will have power to decide who leads the nation, like it did previously during the 2017 conference where Mpumalanga numbers gave the unlikely candidate the victory," said Thumbathi.
Pretoria News