Ramaphosa must explain why he picked Pandor over Sisulu – analyst

ANC presidential hopeful Cyril Ramaphosa might have to go down to grassroots to explain why Naledi Pandor is a better choice than the popular Lindiwe Sisulu as his deputy.

But political analyst Dumisani Hlophe said this was a challenge that Ramaphosa and his team would easily meet.

Hlophe said although branches were supposed to run the show, they were susceptible to manipulation and influence by leadership to change their positions.

“The CR camp can still influence them to accept Pandor and lobby against Sisulu. There is a strong influence by leaders on branches across the party spectrum in our politics,” Hlophe said.

He said Ramaphosa wouldn’t have gone public with Pandor’s name without being confident that she would be supported by party structures.

The ANC branches in the Ramaphosa-supporting Gauteng and Eastern Cape provinces were still sticking to Sisulu as their preferred candidate for deputy.

They have nominated her for the position that she herself had rejected. The branches acknowledged Pandor’s impeccable struggle credentials and her unblemished political career.

But they still believed that Sisulu would bring more votes than Pandor to enable Ramaphosa to beat his main rival for the ANC presidency, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Although Sisulu declined to stand as Ramaphosa’s number two – rather preferring to run as a presidential candidate in her own right – she told various media that she was not consulted by Ramaphosa about the matter.

Some of her close associates confirmed that there was no direct discussion between the two contenders about the issue.

The Gauteng branches said they respected Ramaphosa’s top six wish list that he announced recently and in which he replaced Sisulu with Pandor.

“In our combination, we want Lindiwe to be the DP to Cyril and we are not moving from that position. Naledi is not anywhere in the campaign, but Lindiwe is busy campaigning,” said a member from ANC Ward 17 branch in Sedibeng in the Vaal.

According to Vaal-based Albert Nkutha branch chairperson, Mthuzimele Sikukula, all is not lost and Sisulu might still be convinced by branches to stand for the deputy position.

“We will continue to lobby Mama (Sisulu) to avail herself,” said Sikukula. “That wish list of Ramaphosa will confuse people. We respect Cyril’s wish list, it’s his view, but the point we are making is for the DP to be Lindiwe. “It’s our responsibility to lobby her because most of our branches here in the Vaal have nominated her.”

The Eastern Cape is another province that preferred Sisulu for the deputy position.

While the leadership was mulling the top six list, grassroots members in the province still had Sisulu as their choice. “This change has not come to us on the ground, we don’t know anything about Naledi Pandor. We still have to be briefed about this change. We will listen though,” said Ntombizanele Mbonjeni, a branch member from Nelson Mandela metro.

Hlophe said Sisulu might have inadvertently placed herself out of the Ramaphosa top six by taking too long to respond to his call.

“The more she placed herself out of the DP position, the less [chance] for her to become the president in future. “She internalised her belief of winning the No 1 position and [in] that way did herself a disservice,” Hlophe said.

Another analyst, Sipho Seepe, said Sisulu’s marginalisation was due to her straight talk, including her questioning why she should be Ramaphosa’s deputy instead of it being the other way around, Seepe said.

– ericn@citizen.co.za

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