With horse trading negotiations for ANC positions heating up ahead of the party’s elective conference later this month, deputy president nominee Oscar Mabuyane says talks around the party positions are still open.
His comments came as the Eastern Cape provincial executive committee held its meeting on Monday, resolving to approach Mpumalanga for support for the deputy president position or, alternatively, to support Mpumalanga’s bid for the deputy president position in return for the province backing Mabuyane as ANC treasurer general.
This could see the Eastern Cape supporting Ronald Lamola for deputy president or vice versa.
Mabuyane said that he has not ruled out the position of treasurer general.
But he stressed that this would only happen at the behest of party branches with the correct leadership.
In an interview with the Mail & Guardian just days after he was announced the third nominee for the position of deputy president, the Eastern Cape leader said the announcement had made his life easier, for now, as he had not met the threshold for treasurer general.
In the past few weeks there have been calls for Mabuyane to take on the treasurer general position and avoid a battle with Paul Mashatile for the deputy president post.
Mabuyane confirmed that he was aware some branches in Gauteng had nominated him as their preferred candidate for treasure general.
ANC insiders from the Eastern Cape see the nomination by Gauteng as testing the water on whether Mabuyane would align with the province.
A meeting two weeks ago, allegedly between Gauteng provincial secretary TK Nciza, the Eastern Cape’s Lulama Ngcukayitobi, Lebogang Maile, Collen Maine and Limpopo’s Reuben Madadzhe, failed to reach an agreement during negotiations, according to ANC insiders.
Those lobbying for Mabuyane are said to be of the view that, despite Mashatile’s lead, the Eastern Cape heavyweight still has a chance to get elected.
“What is key to us and me, in particular, is that you can’t just go and become a treasurer of people who are diametrically opposed to what you believe in, as a person, or opposed to the perspective that you subscribed to,” Mabuyane told the M&G.
“We are not on a fishing expedition where we’re looking for a low-hanging position. Yes, we want to unite the ANC but we are uniting with who? There are some who believe the ANC must not renew. Its renewal would displace their comfort zone. The position of treasurer general is part of key positions in the ANC top six and I only respond to what branches are saying.
“Eastern Cape leadership and branches will direct and indicate for me if I need to turn right or turn left. That will also be dictated by the engagement, lobbying, trade-off that is being done. Even then, there are clear parameters that you can’t go anywhere because you are offered the position of treasurer general somewhere,” he added.
Mabuyane said that although he appreciated the vote of confidence by ANC branches, he was not desperate for the position, adding that the Eastern Cape was clear it would work with those who had ideas and ideals in common with the province.
“At the end of the day, there will be no need to split votes on people who are one. Surely there will be engagement and we are interacting with other provinces to make sure that we really don’t mess this very delicate environment [and] for us not to drop the ball. One thing that we cannot afford, is to create uncertainty around renewal or be ambiguous around renewal and send mixed feelings around renewal,” he said.
“We believe in a collective that must help the ANC, extricate the ANC out of this existential crisis that the ANC is going through. So we’ve got to remodel, renew the ANC, for us to be able to propel a country, to provide the leadership that is needed in our country.”
He said although the Eastern Cape would work around consensus leadership, must also be asked: “Yes, we are all members of the ANC, but are we of the same mind, are we aligned in terms of what the ANC is going through and what the ANC seeks to achieve?
“One thing that I’m sure of is that we are not going to degenerate into opportunists because we want you to be elected at all costs. We don’t compromise on renewal because we believe it’s the right thing to do for the ANC.
“So, we cannot just align with whoever is looking for numbers and votes. We are not into that space and we are not going to sell our souls to the highest bidder around such matters.”
The Eastern Cape will bring the second largest delegation behind KwaZulu-Natal to the ANC’s national elective conference. The province announced early on that it would support President Cyril Ramaphosa for a second term. Ramaphosa received the highest number of branch nominations from the Eastern Cape, ahead of his home province of Gauteng.
The Eastern Cape has been seen as the anchor province for the Ramaphosa campaign, although his lobbyist chose not to support Mabuyane as the preferred candidate for deputy president, opting instead for Senzo Mchunu.
ANC insiders told reporters that Mchunu’s endorsement — as well as Ramaphosa’s branch opting to nominate Mashatile as its preferred candidate — was a slap in the face for the Eastern Cape, but Mabuyane said nothing could be further from the truth.
He said “confusion between Eastern Cape and the president does not exist”.
“The president is not a lobbyist. He himself is a victim or a beneficiary of those who have identified their view with his. So, that issue is ongoing. There’s a discussion that permits lobbying to go on at a certain point.”
Mabuyane was also quick to dismiss claims that the Eastern Cape’s endorsement of party chairperson Gwede Mantashe would damage his chances.
He said while the Eastern Cape was Mantashe’s home province, he was a national leader. Making Mantashe an Eastern Cape nominee was a tribal stance and a mistake, he added.
“So, to reduce him into “if Mabuyane comes in, Mantashe must go” is very unfair. No one has said if the president comes, Stan Mathabatha must go. Why is that only applicable to the Eastern Cape?”
