Embattled Chiawelo ANC members put faith in Cyril Ramaphosa for second term, with Paul Mashatile as deputy

3 Oct 2022

Now less than three months till the ANC’s December elective conference, the President got the backing for the number one position by his own branch - Ward 11 - in Chiawelo, Soweto at the weekend.

After Cyril Ramaphosa was officially nominated by his own Soweto branch for a second term as ANC president at the weekend, he poured cold water over suggestions that he is out of touch with their realities.

Residents in SA’s oldest township have been grappling with service delivery and, like many South Africans, constant power cuts and rolling blackouts. In some parts of Soweto, residents have been without electricity for months.

The president said their plight was no different from those in other parts of the country.

“I don’t serve the people of Chiawelo only as a President, if I did that, there would be a huge complaint around the country that I am just focusing on the place I come from,” he told members of the media shortly after attending a general branch meeting on Sunday.

This as he cautioned ministers against falling into the trap of prioritising their own communities at the expense of members who vote them into power from across the country.

“And I also want to say that leaders must avoid just focusing on their own birthplaces or where they live because when we are elected we serve the whole country by ensuring that there are good policies, processes and there is good governance.”

To comment on what he’s directly doing for the community Ramaphosa said would be misplaced and would put him on the firing line.

Ramaphosa’s hand for re-election was strengthened after the branch nomination on Sunday. He is a member in good standing in the Ward 11 branch. During his attendance, unlike other members in the branch, he appeared to play an observer role as he supported or rejected proposals to have other people lead alongside him.

When journalists quizzed him about this, he responded, “as a member, I wanted to have a sense of what other members think, I will have my own opportunity at the conference as I vote to express my thoughts and views.”

The branch endorsed incumbent treasurer-general, Paul Mashatile for deputy president, former KZN secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli for secretary-general, party’s head of organising Nomvula Mokonyane for deputy secretary-general and incumbent spokesperson Pule Mabe for the position of treasurer-general.

Branches play an important role as they make up 90% of delegates at the party’s national conference, which is taking place from 16 December.

Gender equality

The nominations come as the ruling party grapples with the inclusion of women and young people in its ranks ahead of the elective conference. Ramaphosa said he’s confident that gender equality will be upheld at the December conference.

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The remarks come despite the lack of women being nominated for critical positions in the party. So far, only a handful have been nominated including Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for president, Mamoloko Kubayi for deputy president and Mokonyane for deputy secretary general.

“The ANC is committed to gender equality, and we are going to see that emerging very strongly at the conference itself notwithstanding in certain places, the absence of nominations of women particularly in key positions, and the principle of gender equality cannot be undermined. I want to say to you, it will be reconfirmed at the conference. Let’s see this as a nomination process which is going to be properly managed and which is going to be swift as we get to the conference,” Ramaphosa told journalists.

“My own conviction is that issues of gender equality will be upheld at the conference.”

The process of branches nominating their preferred candidates was initially expected to conclude at the weekend, however, due to rolling blackouts and staff protests, it was postponed to the 25 October.

Read more in Daily Maverick: ANC forced to extend branch nominations deadline due to power crisis, unpaid staff

Ramaphosa has been endorsed for the position by several provinces including Limpopo, Eastern Cape, and Mpumalanga. Free State and the Western Cape are yet to have their conferences.

Last week, KwaZulu-Natal became the first province not to throw its weight behind Ramaphosa, instead, it endorsed embattled former health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize to lead the party.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Zweli Mkhize for president, says ANC in KZN as it snubs Ramaphosa and Dlamini Zuma

The move was seen as direct defiance of the party’s electoral committee which cautioned provinces against pronouncing their preferred leadership candidates before the conference. This has also raised concerns about the power that branches hold.

Commenting on this, Ramaphosa said although the electoral committee chaired by Kgalema Motlanthe had concluded rules and guidelines ahead of the conference, the process had been evolving and missteps were expected.

“This process is evolving and there may well be missteps along the way, but in the end, it all culminates in a fairly well-managed process which the electoral committee will manage. The culture of the ANC to be democratic in what it does is not going to be diluted — it is going to be reconfirmed even with some of the missteps.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Explainer: What do the ANC’s new electoral rules mean for what happens at December conference?

“The missteps are not really going to kill the culture of the ANC, and even as we move on, that culture will even become better with the new rules and regulations that have been put in place.”

Despite the provincial pronouncements, Ramaphosa maintained the branches had the ultimate say on their preferred candidates.

“In the end, it is the conference of branches. It is branch delegates who are going to tick on the names in the ballot papers,” he said. DM

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