Top 6 and the generational mix

AS THE ANC’s 55th elective conference, scheduled to take place at Nasrec in Joburg from December 16-20 gains momentum, a few things make the conference mood even more interesting than the previous ones – including the 54th conference, also held at Nasrec in December 2017.

A number of unprecedented developments preceded this year’s conference. The incumbent, President Cyril Ramaphosa, was hit by a scandal that happened in 2020 and was swept under the rug. He is said to have kept large sums of money on his farm in foreign currency (US dollars). The crime was not reported to police; and the money is said to have not been disclosed to Sars. That such money was kept in the house and not at the bank raised eyebrows.

Importantly, the president has been accused of having illegally apprehended the culprits, had them tortured and bribed them not to spill the beans. This issue remained unknown to both the public and law enforcement agencies. Now the president is being accused of wrongdoing and told he has to face the music.

Arthur Fraser, the former spy boss, spilt the beans and divulged the secret about the theft of millions of US dollars, said to have been secretly stashed in furniture at the president’s Phala Phala Farm. This revelation triggered the African Transformation Movement (ATM) to lay a formal complaint against the president with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula . The request to investigate the president was only acceded to by the Speaker in the ATM’s second attempt after the party had responded to all the concerns initially raised by the Speaker.

That step led to the appointment of a Section 89 panel to look into the matter and to advise Parliament if there were grounds to invoke Section 89 of the Constitution regarding the impeachment process of the president. The panel was led by retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo.

The panel executed its mandate diligently and prepared its report which had serious findings, setting the country on a new path.

Soon after its release, the news emerged that the president was going to address the nation. The entire nation looked forward to it. There was speculation that he would announce his resignation as head of state. This never happened on the promised day of Thursday, December 1.

The last-minute postponement of Ramaphosa’s address to the nation, and the postponement of the Special ANC NEC meeting, scheduled to sit that same Thursday and its abrupt adjournment on Friday, December 2, barely after it had started, all make the 2022 ANC conference one full of drama and excitement.

Against this backdrop, a few things are worth noting. First, when Kgalema Motlanthe announced the list of candidates for the top six positions in his capacity as head of elections in the ANC, there were glaring absences, notably the name of Deputy President David Mabuza. Failure by both Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Lindiwe Sisulu to make it on to the list as they had done in 2017, also raised eyebrows. This meant the only way they could still make it on to the ballot paper would be if they were nominated from the conference floor – provided it is supported by 25% of the delegates.

The discussion will now switch to the actual candidates who won nominations and thus made it on to the list of candidates to contest any of the various six positions up for grabs at the conference.

For the presidential contest, only the incumbent, President Cyril Ramaphosa and former health minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, made it on to the list of candidates.

Ramaphosa received 2 037 nominations; Dr Mkhize only managed 916. Other presidential hopefuls such as Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Lindiwe Sisulu did not make it on to the list. Sisulu complained there were miscalculations which resulted in her being left out of the presidential race.

Candidates for the deputy president position were led by Paul Mashatile with 1 791 votes, followed by Ronald Lamola with 427 votes and then Oscar Mabuyane, Premier of the Eastern Cape, with a mere 397 votes.

The ANC national chairperson position is being contested by Limpopo’s Premier, Stanley Mathabatha with 1 492 votes, current chairperson Gwede Mantashe with 979 votes and David Masondo with 501 votes.

For the secretary-general position, the three contenders are Mdumiseni Ntuli with 1 225 votes, Phumulo Masualle with 889 votes and Fikile Mbalula with 749 votes.

The deputy secretary-general position is being contested by two women – Nomvula Mokonyane with 1 779 votes and Febe Potgieter with 905 votes.

Lastly, for the treasurer general position, there are three contenders: Benjani Chauke with 552 votes, Pule Mabe with 428 votes and Mzwandile Masina who managed 348 votes.

Two things are worth noting in these lists. The first one is that the list is a direct contrast to what the ANC has been saying over the years regarding gender equity epitomised by the 50/50 gender representation goal. It is only the deputy secretary- general position that is being contested by women. The rest are all men.

This is an indictment of both men and women in the ANC!

The second observation is the party’s failure to ensure that there is a generational mix. The two presidential candidates are not young anymore. Ramaphosa is 70 and Dr Mkhize 66.

The ages of those standing for deputy president range from 39 for Lamola; 48 for Mabuyane; and 61 for Mashatile. Mabuyane is relatively young, but only Lamola is actually young.

The ages of those running for the national chairperson position range from 48 for David Masondo and 65 for Mathabathato to 67 for Mantashe.

As for secretary-general, although the ages of Ntuli and Masualle are not readily available, it is known that Mbalula is 51, relatively young compared with many of the candidates.

The two women vying for the deputy secretary-general post are in their late 50s. Mokonyane is 59.

The three contestants for the treasurer general position (Chauke, Mabe and Masina) are middle-aged. This is an indictment on the ANC. During nominations, the youth participate in that process. If the youth constitute the majority of people in South Africa, logic dictates that there should be more of them in political parties such as the ANC. If that is the case, why can’t they support one another?

Neither the ANC, as an organisation, nor the ANC Youth League (when it existed before its work was taken over by the Task Team) wants the youth to replace elder members of the party. All that they want is a generational mix. This would mean that when elder members retire, the youth would be able to take the baton.

The irony is that as the ANC prepares for its elective conference, its leagues are either in tatters or totally non-existent. For example, the NEC of the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) is currently not in existence as a formal structure. The Youth League (ANCYL) is being run by a Task Team. The uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) was disbanded. So, how does the ANC hope to achieve its “renewal” agenda without its leagues?

This conference is going to be unique!