A massive race for the ANC chairmanship is gathering steam and it pits Premier Sihle Zikalala, finance MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube and businessman Sandile Zungu.
Others vying for the top position include former directorgeneral of the province Nhlanhla Ngidi and MEC for transport and community safety and liaison Peggy Nkonyeni.
ANC insiders say the RET faction, allied to former president Jacob Zuma, is supporting both Dube-Ncube and Zungu and has as its base the eThekwini region. With more than 111 branches and 100,000 members, the region elected corruption-accused former mayor Zandile Gumede as its head in April.
But, she has had to step aside in line with party protocols that demand those charged with serious charges refrain from holding office until they are cleared.
KwaZulu-Natal is the ANC’s biggest province. It has the largest number of branches before Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. Traditionally, it has been a powerful force and a deal-breaker in ANC politics.
But, it is now riddled with factions. At the Nasrec elective conference in 2017, candidate Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma lost the contest to lead the party to Cyril Ramaphosa.
“It is clear that the eThekwini region is divided between DubeNcube and Zungu. In the past week though the Gumede camp has shown that it wants Zungu in at all costs, even as treasurer,” said a senior leader in the party who declined to be named.
Having Zungu in the provincial set-up will give Gumede an ally in the provincial structures while she deals with her corruption, fraud and money laundering trial.
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