Zukile Majova
THE ROAD TO 2024: Zukile Majova writes that the choice for the ANC this weekend is between the Ramaphosa and Zuma factions
The most important provincial conference of the ANC in Gauteng got underway on Friday with the press being locked out of the opening address by National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe.
The media blackout also meant millions of Gauteng citizens that the ANC wishes to convince should vote for it in the coming elections were also locked out.
The ruling party has its back against the wall especially in Gauteng where the ANC scraped through with 50.09% in the last general elections.
In the local government elections last year, the ruling party could only garner 36% of the vote.
That decline paved the way for a takeover of key metro municipalities by a DA-led coalition.
In the past the ANC has appealed to the public to leave the matters of the ANC to the ANC.
This public posture of arrogance has cost the party a great deal and appears to be continuing as the party faces the grim reality of losing control of the Gauteng in the 2024 elections.
Two young leaders, MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi and MEC for Human Settlements and Cooperative Governance Lebogang Maile are vying for the position of provincial chairperson in this year’s showdown in Benoni.
Just 1 300 delegates from five regions – Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg, West Rand, Tshwane and Sedibeng – will vote in the conference.
Gauteng residents who are potential voters in the coming election have no idea why any of these two have been chosen.
They also have no idea of each candidate’s vision for the future running of the country’s economic hub.
What is clear however is the following:
Lesufi represents President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Thuma Mina faction in the ANC.
This is the faction that is trying to undo years of destruction of state institutions under the administration of former President Jacob Zuma.
His victory would mean a continuation of efforts to rebuild state capacity and pave the way for future prosecution of those who looted public funds.
Maile represents the Zuma faction in the ANC.
It’s a faction of people who have been implicated in state capture and undermining the integrity of the judiciary.
To non-ANC members, if they were taken into the ANC’s confidence, the distinction would be clear.
To the press free ANC Gauteng meeting behind closed doors its choice will be clear by the end of the weekend.
