ANC national conference: Top seven expected to be announced

The country remains on tenterhooks as ANC delegates voted late into the night for the party’s top seven with a fierce campaign battle between Cyril Ramaphosa and Zweli Mkhize for the position of president of the party.

More than 4,000 delegates at the conference should know on Monday whether Cyril Ramaphosa will lead the party for another five years or whether the change that many are calling for will result in the reins being handed to former health minister, Zweli Mkhize.

Gauteng was the last province to cast their votes late into Sunday night for the top seven leadership.

Policy discussions appear to be taking a backseat to the leadership race, as behind-the-scenes lobbying distracted delegates from closed-door commissions.

Provinces flip-flopped on Sunday on who they would support to lead the party, with fierce trade-offs being made for the deputy presidency between Paul Mashatile and Oscar Mabuyane, leaving Ronald Lamola out of the race.

The ANC’s new top leadership is expected to be seized with addressing the governing party’s dwindling membership which has plummeted in at least eight provinces.

With the countdown to the crowning of the new ANC president close to being delivered, another problem emerged.

Former President Jacob Zuma instituted a private prosecution in the Johannesburg High Court, for which, Ramaphosa is due to appear in court in January.

Ramaphosa rejected this private prosecution by the former president and gave Zuma until Monday to withdraw or face legal action.

ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe has warned that the use of money in the governing party’s internal leadership elections will affect the quality of its leadership.

The mineral resources and energy minister called for the ANC and its tripartite alliance partners to have an honest discussion about the quality of leaders they elect for various structures.

Source: ENCA, Eyewitness News, IOL, image from Twitter: @NkosinathiShazi

Doctor Mahlaule

Doctor Mahlaule previously worked as a Freelance Journalist at Find-it SA where he was responsible for writing news articles and sharing them on social media platforms. Doctor Mahlaule holds a Diploma in Journalism, BA in Communication Science and a BA Honours in Media Studies. Doctor began his journey as a knowledge Management and Communications Intern at Zenex Foundation. He was responsible for support in event management, social media, website maintenance, writing and brand management. On weekends Doctor attends prison ministry and shares the scriptures with inmates at Krugersdorp prison and plays soccer in the afternoon on some weekends. He has a passion for reading and writing and enjoys going out with friends and socialising in his spare time. He has a one-year-old son and is planning on getting married soon. When asked about what keeps him going, he said: “My family keeps me going. I’m the man I am because I come from a loving home. I have a very supportive family who always encourages me to keep pushing hard.”

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