Cape Town - The ANC in the Western Cape has yet to decide on its preferred possible leadership line-up ahead of the party’s national elective conference in December.
This takes place at a time when the top five officials from each of the three Cape provinces are scheduled to hold bilateral meetings this week.
Northern Cape officials will meet their counterparts in the Eastern Cape in East London, on Tuesday. They will then meet Western Cape officials in Cape Town on Thursday.
“Consolidating the Cape vote for the renewal project,” said Northern Cape provincial secretary Deshi Ngxanga in a tweet.
On Monday , Western Cape Interim Provincial Committee convenor Lerumo Kalako confirmed the meeting to be held in two days’ time.
“The engagement is around the national conference. Other provinces have been holding meetings,” Kalako said.
He was referring to a meeting convened between Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal last week.
KwaZulu-Natal was also set to meet Gauteng province.
“These engagements are trying to find some consensus leadership for the national conference,” Kalako told the Cape Times.
The planned meeting with Northern Cape officials will take place when the Western Cape Interim Provincial Committee has yet to decide who it wants to be elected at the upcoming national conference.
According to Kalako, they have not yet discussed their leadership preferences.
“Regions will meet and discuss. We will then meet in a provincial general council (PGC), but the nominations are continuing,” he said.
“Immediately, once we complete the nominations, we will have our own PGC to consolidate our preferences,” Kalako said.
Spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said the branch general meetings (BGMs) aimed to make nominations for the top six positions which would be finalised at the end of October.
Mtsweni said the nomination process currently under way would enable the interim committee to see who had been nominated. “We are not to try to influence the branches during the nomination process,” he said.
The cautious approach taken by the Western Cape is different to that taken by both the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape leaders.
On Friday, the Northern Cape released to its branches a list of names of prospective candidates.
“The names are mere proposals to guide and in no way presented in an order of priority. Branches are free to nominate any other name,” said Ngxanga in a statement.
The province has thrown its weight behind President Cyril Ramaphosa for re-election citing his commitment “to renew and reposition the ANC as an agent for change capable of improving the quality of life of all South Africans”.
It released six names for the deputy president position, three names each for the secretary-general and deputy secretary-general posts and two for the treasurer-general position.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe is the province’s sole candidate for the national chairperson post.
The Eastern Cape resolved to lobby for re-election of Ramaphosa. Its chairperson, Oscar Mabuyane, is favoured for the deputy president post, Mantashe for the position of national chairperson and “women” to occupy the secretary-general office.
Mabuyane on Monday said he noted the indication by some branches that he contests for an NEC position.
“The processes of the ANC for leadership nomination have started and will continue in the next couple of months,” he said.
UWC political analyst Keith Gottschalk said: “The Eastern Cape division of the ANC has one of the biggest numbers of members of any province, so it is encouraging for Ramaphosa's campaign managers to have won their support. Mabuyane and Mantashe are veteran leaders well known to ANC members.”
Cape Times