The African National Congress (ANC) KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Chairperson, Siboniso Duma, says they will not be bullied by other provinces into supporting Paul Mashatile for the position of deputy president. This comes as the ANC gears up for its 55th National Conference at Nasrec in Johannesburg in December.
The party in KZN says it is still in talks with other provinces to ensure that the ANC emerges as a united force after the conference in December.
As the ANC 55th national conference approaches, lobbying and campaigning intensifies. Some provinces – including Limpopo and Gauteng – have nominated Mashatile to be the Deputy President, a position currently occupied by David Mabuza.
But Duma, says lobbying is still under way, until December the 16th when the conference begins. He says the ANC can’t have the entire leadership coming from Gauteng, for the party has to show some diversity.
“Gauteng province you are not entitled just to bull-dose us, please don’t bully us – come to the foyer, let us debate robustly so. Because why do we have to support your candidate if you don’t support ours, then that is how the ANC culture has been like anyway. That its not like the ANC Gauteng must get the entire leadership in the officials. We are not going towards a Provincial Gauteng conference, it is a national conference – so we must embrace the spirit of ensuring that, let us be diverse.”
The party in KZN has endorsed NEC member, Dr Zweli Mkhize for the position of President of the ANC.
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Enhance service delivery
Meanwhile, Duma says they are looking at overhauling the province’s municipalities in order to enhance service delivery. The ANC in KZN has seen a decline in support during the last local government elections, which saw it losing some municipalities. There have been calls for the removal of Mxolisi Kaunda as the Mayor of eThekwini Municipality, for his failure to deliver services to the citizens.
But Duma says this is not only about the eThekwini Municipality, but all the municipalities in the province.
“We need some strategic chance at the level of these municipalities that are not performing well, but we must be holistic as well. You, I think it can’t become easy for you to take out the mayor. Will then the process going to be restored, not really – so you must be holistic and thorough. In some instances with with approach of administration, our technocrats are no longer giving us a proper service – so we must be thorough, which is why the issue of timing is always critical. ”
Duma says the provincial government is doing all it can to ensure that there is maximum economic growth. He says the natural disasters that hit KZN recently and the July unrest in 2021, are having a huge impact on service delivery.
