Mabuyane, Lamola reject call from #Renew lobby to bow out of contest for ANC deputy president position

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A move to secure Senzo Mchunu as ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa‘s second-in-command has again been thwarted by provincial leaders, according to party insiders

A meeting of the Ramaphosa caucus is said to have taken place on Sunday where discussions were held about the slate. 

Insiders who attended the meeting said there were suggestions, allegedly driven by Derek Hanekom and Mondli Gungubele, to convince the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga provincial leaders to ditch their preferred candidates — Oscar Mabuyane and Ronald Lamola — for deputy president and instead endorse Senzo Mchunu for the position. 

Insiders said this was rejected by the meeting. 

“It’s unfair for anyone to suggest that Oscar Mabuyane and Ronald Lamola should withdraw from the race when they are the two who have support from provinces and have made it to the ballot. It makes no sense,” one ANC leader said. 

The same leader said Lamola, who was at the meeting, insisted that he would see his race for deputy president to the end. 

The other insider said it was finally agreed by most of the national leaders at the meeting that the two provinces should instead consolidate positions and come back with a unified slate. 

The Mpumalanga provincial leaders and their Eastern Cape counterparts are expected to meet on Tuesday to discuss party positions ahead of the party’s December conference

“Both provinces were given this week to meet and consolidate their slate,” the second insider said. 

The Eastern Cape lobby group, consisting of Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams and Sisisi Tolashe, reported back to the provincial executive committee (PEC) on Monday on its negotiations with other provinces. 

They are said to have reported that negotiations with the KwaZulu-Natal leadership had collapsed. The lobby group had also met with those allied to outgoing treasurer general Paul Mashatile, but they could not agree on the position of deputy president and treasurer general. 

The Eastern Cape provincial leader said the Mashatile grouping could not guarantee any position for the province, which resulted in a deadlock. 

The Eastern Cape PEC said it would start talks with Mpumalanga over positions, including that of deputy president and treasurer general. 

Eastern Cape secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi confirmed this, saying that the Eastern Cape was not married to any position.

Ngcukayitobi said the PEC reflected on the announced nomination lists and affirmed their support for Ramaphosa, Mabuyane and Gwede Mantashe for a second term as national chair. 

Ngcukayitobi told journalists that the province will probably start negotiations with Mpumalanga, saying it had more similarities with the Eastern Cape than any other province. 

“We are even open about other positions that other structures may think of us. The structures may say the Eastern Cape should be president of the ANC; we may be open about that particular matter. Whatever happens should be the basis of discussion between ourselves and other provinces.

“It’s important to meet Mpumalanga because the kind of nominations that were done by Mpumalanga are almost similar to the Eastern Cape outcomes. We have got more similarities with Mpumalanga than other provinces, except in the few positives of the deputy president and treasurer general. Now we will have to meet so that we can convince each other about how we can consolidate the unity of the organisation. How do you ensure that the path towards the renewal of the organisation is a little bit better than it has been,” Ngcukayitobi added. 

The Mail & Guardian first reported on cracks in the Ramaphosa #Renew22 campaign lobby group strategy in October, when a decision to support Mchunu was first rejected by ANC leaders. 

The October meeting resolved to support people who had not been endorsed by powerful provincial players for key positions in the ruling party.

The slate included Mchunu for deputy president, Mantashe as national chair, Fikile Mbalula as secretary general, Gwen Ramokhopa as the deputy secretary general and Tina Joemat-Pettersson as the treasurer general. But Joemat-Pettersson was later replaced by Febe Potgieter.

The concession by the Ramaphosa caucus is the first sign that Mabuyane or Lamola could become part of the ANC top six, But the two are still up against Mashatile, who has the largest nomination of all 16 candidates in the top six positions second to Ramaphosa. 

Although Mashatile has fallen out of favour with KwaZulu-Natal, insiders say the relationship has not broken down. Mashatile is relying on KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West and Gauteng to help clinch the deputy president position.

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