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Gauteng ANC defends Premier Lesufi saying party leaders who have run out of ideas must quit

Gauteng ANC defends Premier Lesufi saying party leaders who have run out of ideas must quit
The Gauteng African National Congress (ANC) has defended utterances made by its leader and Premier Panyaza Lesufi on the eve of the 55th national conference.

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has accused some ANC leaders of having run out of ideas, saying they must resign before they are pushed — because they led a deeply divided ANC and failed to deliver for the people of South Africa.

Ahead of Lesufi’s blistering speech, Gauteng was believed to be firmly behind the campaign to elect President Cyril Ramaphosa for the second term.

Former Health Minister Zweli Mkhize is challenging Ramaphosa for the position of ANC president. The pair could be joined on the ballot paper by anyone whose name is raised from the conference floor.

“There are certain leaders... they have run out of ideas. It’s better they leave before we push them… we must not allow the 55th national conference in Nasrec to divide us.

“As Gauteng, we are not going to choose any slate, we are not going to choose any individual, we are only going to be on the side of the ANC,” Lesufi was quoted as saying.

Questions


After Lesufi’s speech, many have questioned where his province — which has the fourth-largest voting block after KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Eastern Cape — stands in the jostling for positions in the ruling party.

Gauteng is one of the provinces on a knife edge and could fall into an opposition coalition in the 2024 general elections.

Daily Maverick caught up with TK Nciza, the Gauteng ANC provincial secretary, at the conference registration centre, where he emphatically defended Lesufi, saying the latter had merely expressed the position of the province, which is not supporting any of the contending factions in the conference. He said they are concerned about leaders who are facing a number of allegations, including Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala issue.

“Our chairperson never spoke on his behalf… he spoke on behalf of the provincial executive council (PEC) of Gauteng. He did not say anything wrong. Generally, Gauteng has to be honest in its politics. It doesn’t necessarily start today.

“We are expected to say things that must favour certain candidates and not the other. My chairperson was speaking about ANC politics, the national democratic revolution, people’s power, those are the things he was talking about… that we must not have an organisation that is captured by capital. And we are very strong on that as this collective of the PEC,” he said.

Party unity


Nciza added that his province would do everything in its power to facilitate a conference that would see the emergence of a united and strong ruling party.

“We want to get out of this conference with a united ANC. We came here knowing what must be our role as the province. Anything that seeks to divide the ANC will have a very negative impact in our province. That is why we came without choosing a side.

“We came here to engage, not to endorse a particular slate,” he said.

Nciza added that his province will engage with other provinces and regions until “we enter the doorstep of the (voting venue of the) conference.” DM

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