ANC in KZN not supporting Ramaphosa because of ‘lack of firmness’

President Cyril Ramaphosa will not get the support of the KZN provincial leadership, but will be protected from insults, provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo said on Sunday.

Mtolo was giving a keynote address at the Moses Mabhida Regional Lekgotla which began at the Athletics Stadium in Alexandra Park on Sunday.

The lekgotla will wrap up on Monday.

Part of the programme entailed presentations by municipalities under Umgungundlovu District, but that session was closed to the media.

Mtolo said the ANC in 2002, and not “this one”, would not have even discussed the Phala Phala scandal, which the party is currently occupied with.

He said the party lacked decisive and firm leadership.

“It [ANC] was not going to discuss somebody who keeps R10 million in a sofa, and wants to discuss the legalities. It would have said, chief, we don’t even want to know why you took the money from a safe place and put it under a sofa. You are not one of us. That’s the ANC of 2002. This one discusses everything; it discusses even nonsense which later results in problems for the party.”

He said this was because of a lack of firmness.

“We met with the president and we told him that we will not be voting for him. We will obviously protect him from insults. It is not right to insult sitting presidents.

“The Phala Phala report has some glaring findings. Read it page by page and read it with understanding. Those judges discovered that the dollars were removed from a safe and kept in a sofa on the farm. They were not safe in the safe. I hear the call for the report to be taken for review, why?

 “That report is not flawed. The judges did not say the president is guilty but that he may have a case to answer. Why is he not using this opportunity to clear his name? I don’t think there is a court that will overturn that report,” said Mtolo.

He said the president had said the money was for the payment of three buffaloes which were sold, but the buyer had not come to collect them for three years.

Mtolo further encouraged those in attendance to refrain from bringing the party into disrepute.

“Let us not insult the people we do not like for leadership positions. Let us promote our own candidates for the best interest of the ANC. The kind of politics we have is toxic. A branch chairperson called me and we spoke for about an hour. The cadre said if Zweli [Mkhize] does not emerge as the president then they will go and vote with the IFP. Even if you don’t like a candidate, vote for the ANC,” he said.

Turning to local government, he said there was lack of understanding of complex issues on how to run governance.

“Coupled with this challenge comrades, is ill discipline among councillors, total ill-discipline. The failure of political office bearers to know their oversight role [is another issue].”

Msunduzi Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla was the first to present an update to the regional lekgotla on the political activities of the ANC caucus.

Thebolla said he hoped that after the lekgotla there will be a programme of action on how to regain lost ground.

“Members should come up with ideas on how we gain back uMngeni Municipality. We have all municipalities under the Moses Mabhida region represented in the lekgotla except uMngeni,” said Thebolla.