Branches in the Mpumalanga province have reportedly been gagged from saying a word on who they want to lead the party in December 2017 but the party this week moved to dismiss this.
The ANC in the Mpumalanga province will come out in mid-November to tell the world who they want to lead the ANC.
This will happen once branches have finished nomination meetings, the party said.
Leaders with the highest number of branch nominations will be endorsed at a provincial general council (PGC) to be held in mid-November, spokeswoman Sasekani Manzini said on Thursday.
“That’s when we will pronounce because we will know who branches want when we do the consolidation at the PGC,” she said.
Mpumalanga, the ANC’s second biggest region, is currently preaching unity and not endorsing anybody for any position.
Manzini says they want branches to be the ones that pronounce and lead the process of installing leadership in December.
A PGC is expected before November 2017 ends, she said.
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Branches are currently conducting nomination meetings across the province and some branches have reportedly wrote the word ‘Unity’ where they are supposed to put the name of the person they want as president, deputy, secretary, deputy secretary, chairperson and treasurer, especially in the Ehlanzeni region, Mabuza’s stronghold and the country’s second biggest ANC region.
The CR17 in Mpumalanga is opposed to Mabuza’s unity.
They say his is ‘personalised’ and ‘cosmetic’ unity and said the only unity they will accept is when Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa succeeds President Jacob Zuma.
Former AU chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Ramaphosa are forerunners in the ANC presidential race.
The Dlamini-Zuma camp wants Mabuza as deputy while the CR17 camp wants Lindiwe Sisulu as Ramaphosa’s deputy.
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Other runners are Baleka Mbete, Mathews Phosa, Jeff Radebe and Zweli Mkhize.
The NDZ group also wants Ace Magashule, currently the chairman of the ANC in Free State, as secretary, and foreign minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane as treasurer.
Senzo Mchunu, former KZN ANC chair, is punted in the CR slate as secretary, with current secretary Gwede Mantashe as chairman and Gauteng chair Paul Mashatile as treasurer.
(edited by MLM)
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