Durban — The ANC’s 9th provincial elective conference is set to get underway in Durban on Friday with the party currently grappling with the critical issue of delegates’ credentials, with 90% of the delegates already registered.
Backers of some of the front runners have expressed confidence in their chances of success.
Although credentials are yet to be concluded, the contest for the chairperson position is a four horse race with incumbent chairperson Sihle Zikalala seeking re-election to be contested by Nomusa Dube-Ncube, businessman Sandile Zungu and senior KZN member of the provincial legislature Sboniso Duma.
Speaking to Independent Media, Themba Hlatshwayo, chairperson of the ANC’s Million Meyiwa branch in Ndwedwe where Zikalala hails from, said that branches in the area had thrown their weight behind Zikalala’s campaign to retain the position.
“Most branches in the region (General Gizenga Mpanza Region, formerly known as KwaDukuza Region) have also nominated him. In all our four zones in the region, Mandeni, KwaDukuza, Maphumulo and Ndwedwe, when we engaged with branches, we found that most branches were nominating him.
“In the regions, the Musa Dladla Region also confirmed that it nominates him through its chairperson, the Lower South Coast has also confirmed, the Far North has confirmed, those are regions I am sure of,” Hlatshwayo said.
Another region that has thrown its weight behind Zikalala was the Moses Mabhida Region in Pietermaritzburg, which is one of the largest of the ANC’s 11 regions in the province, where Zikalala was supported to retain his position as ANC provincial chairperson.
Hlatshwayo said that Zikalala’s holding on to the position was significant as he had played a role in rebuilding unity in the ANC in the province, unlike in recent years when the party was severely divided.
“He was able to restore unity in the branches and when we look at the province you see that we are a province with many challenges, including the Zulu Royal Family and he’s been able to intervene there and not be a leader that intervenes with the intention to divide the Zulu Royal Household. He is a symbol of unity.
“We also feel that there will be continuity and stability, particularly in stabilising the province’s economy. He’s one of the leaders who clearly understands what to do to ensure KZN succeeds and is able to attract investors through its programmes; this is a huge priority for him,” Hlatshwayo said.
He said that Zikalala, in his role as premier of the province, had also prioritised the development of rural areas as well as ensuring that young people were supported in establishing businesses and nurturing them in those ventures.
“He’s intervened in areas such as poverty alleviation, unemployment and inequality,” Hlatshwayo said.
Wiseman Ngobese, chief lobbyist for Nomusa Dube-Ncube’s campaign under which she has been dubbed the ‘Game Changer’, said that their campaign had focused on all branches in the province although there had been ongoing consultations with regional leaders across KZN.
“She was asked by branches to contest; she didn’t just say she was to be the chairperson. We went to her to ask her to contest and fix the ANC for us because of several reasons based on internal things that we see not going well in the organisation,” Ngobese said.
He said that the attitude of the branches towards Dube-Ncube’s name, based on the work she had conducted for the ANC and the provincial government, was positive, as branches had not resisted her name.
“Branches have made it clear to us that they need her. They see her being able to help them because the view of the branches was that the long term plan was not only to target the National General Elections in 2024, but we are also looking at the local government elections immediately after the National General Elections.
“The branches are of the view that her strength in cooperative governance can assist us in bringing back the organisation into governance of municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal. That is part of the things that are being accepted on the ground.
“The branches across all 11 regions have been drawn to her due to her understanding of government systems and governance as a whole, to the extent that there is not a single region where we don’t have branches that support us,” Ngobese said.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE