Horse-trading intensifies as ANC conference kicks off

With just hours until the vote to decide the ANC’s succession battle, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s camp is in disagreement as his closest backers seem not to agree on who should be on their official ticket in the race for the ANC top six positions.

Ramaphosa is scheduled to face his former health minister Zweli Mkhize for the position of president. That is if another candidate is not mooted from the conference floor on the nomination day. The party allows that — providing those being nominated get support from 25% of the 3,500 delegates to the conference.

On Friday insiders in the party said they were not happy with the inclusion of water minister Senzo Mchunu transport minister Fikile Mbalula, mining minister Gwede Mantashe and party coordinator Gwen Ramokgopa as candidates for deputy president, secretary-general, chairperson and treasurer-general respectively.

The slate, publicly pushed by Ramaphosa ally and national executive committee (NEC) member Derek Hanekom, was described by the insiders who declined to be named, as a “major blunder”.

Business Day spoke to eight provincial and national lobbyists in the CR2022 campaign who criticised the move.

“He is not listening, we are trying,” said one ANC NEC member referring to Ramaphosa.

“This is not about the country, it is about individuals,” another added.

While Ramaphosa has kept his distance from slates and preferred candidates, there are senior party leaders within the CR2022 campaign desperately trying to convince him that ditching treasurer-general and deputy president hopeful Paul Mashatile, former KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli and Limpopo premier Stanley Mathabatha — would cost him strong support from Gauteng and Limpopo.

“Ramaphosa has stayed away from the caucusing because he does not like the factionalism that comes out of the meetings,” an ANC NEC member, who is sympathetic to Ramaphosa, said.

Ramaphosa’s backers were on Friday morning — the first day of the ANC conference — in intense discussions about his “running mate”, several sources said.

Mchunu did not get enough votes to be on the ballot, but could be nominated from the floor.

Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane and justice minister Ronald Lamola — both from the Ramaphosa camp — are officially on the ballot, but far below Paul Mashatile for the post of deputy president.

Mabuyane and Lamola had not backed down last night to make way for Mchunu. The inner turmoil could split this faction’s support and expose its vulnerability against other factions.

Mkhize’s team met leaders of Limpopo on Thursday in a last-ditch attempt to persuade the province to lobby branches there. Limpopo recently said it was officially behind Ramaphosa.

“The meeting went well,” according to a Mkhize lobbyist who added they expect half of Limpopo to move away from support for Ramaphosa.

While the Ramaphosa camp is in turmoil, the Mkhize lobbyists say they are confident. “We know that Limpopo will give us 50% and Gauteng 50%. We are not at all concerned about last-minute horse-trading as the ground wants Mkhize,’ said one lobbyist.

The party’s fate lies in the hands of about 3,500 delegates, from more than 4,000 branches across the country, who will vote for the next president of the ANC, its top officials and 80 additional members who’ll make up the NEC — the highest decision-making body between conferences.