Lungani Zungu
The ANC has now decided – yet again – to postpone all outstanding regional and provincial elective conferences to focus on the 1 November elections.
For a while now, the ANC has been without leadership in the North West, Mpumalanga, Western Cape and Free State.
In KZN only two out of 11 regions have successfully held their elective conferences.
The party has repeatedly postponed the conferences in crucial regions like eThekwini and Moses Mabhida in Pietermaritzburg.
In eThekwini, the party’s biggest region with 110 branches, former mayor Zandile Gumede is expected to square off with Thabani Nyawose, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s backer. It seems, though, that Nyawose has cemented his support after his nomination to the number one spot on the ANC ward candidates list.
This places him in a strong position to become the next mayor of eThekwini Municipality – the only metropolitan municipality in KZN.
Nyawose has not hidden the fact that he is very excited about the mayorship, with its attractive budget of R52.3 billion.
But Gumede, who had a brief taste of the mayoral position until she was recalled in 2019, is also campaigning hard.
The ANC repeatedly failed to convene successful elective conferences in other provinces, such as North West, Free State and Mpumalanga.
In some instances, ANC members in these provinces took to the streets and blocked roads with burning tyres.
Despite the glaring crisis, ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte said that postponing the conferences will give ANC members and supporters enough time to campaign in all nine provinces.
However, for a party that failed to pay staff salaries, it remains to be seen how the ANC would fund campaigns in all provinces.
ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said the party is ready for the voter registration weekend over the upcoming weekend.
