The drive to have Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa elected ANC leader has gained momentum, with a national network of his supporters about to reach consensus on who should serve with him in the party’s top six structure.
The ANC West Rand Region invited deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa to speak to its 75 branches. He honoured the event at the Greenhills Stadium in Randfontein as a guest and used it as a mini-rally, hitting back at his enemies.
Ramaphosa, known as “CR17” to his supporters, visited the region at the request of Boyce Maneli, the ANC chairperson of the West Rand Region, who’s also an a member of the branch of Sanco and in good standing in Swanieville.
The rally, which was clearly a big show of force by the Ramaphosa camp, was joined by his loyalist Mondli Ngungubele, Mathole Motshekga and his sweetheart Angie Motshekga, while Barbara Creecy led the entire ANC Gauteng provincial leadership in a bid to encourage his supporters to take the fight to his opponents as the dirty tricks war in the ANC succession race gathered pace.
Responding to what he has labelled a smear campaign against him, Ramaphosa told ANC branches in Greenhills that he would not be deterred.
As one of Ramaphosa’s backers in the ANC, we have been hard at work in recent weeks, canvassing the opinions of various leaders and activists throughout the country about the names of those who should serve as party officials along with Ramaphosa.
According to the list that is currently being circulated to pro-Ramaphosa activists around the country, Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu will replace “CR17” as deputy president.
Others on the provisional Ramaphosa list are Gwede Mantashe (national chairperson), former KwaZulu-Natal premier Senzo Mchunu (secretary-general) and Febe Potgieter-Gqubule as his deputy. Potgieter-Gqubule has a strong association with Dlamini-Zuma, having worked with her at the African Union.
