Team Ramaphosa wants Lindiwe Sisulu to be his deputy

One of the leading ANC presidential hopefuls, Lindiwe Sisulu, could soon be campaigning under the Cyril Ramaphosa ticket in the run-up to the ANC December national conference.

A senior source with links to Sisulu’s campaign confirmed yesterday she had been approached by the Ramaphosa campaign team to stand as Ramaphosa’s deputy president in December.

According to the source, Sisulu was likely to accept Ramaphosa’s proposal.

“She has not yet confirmed but she is seriously considering it,” he said.

While Sisulu was still going ahead with her own campaign, she was seriously considering the proposal by Ramaphosa’s team. This was in line with her statement to the SABC last week that she was looking at the matter.

“I did not nominate myself; it is up to my council to make a decision on that,” Sisulu said.

This offered a clear sign that, should Ramaphosa win against his main challenger, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, his deputy is most likely to be Sisulu.

Other candidates vying for the top spot include National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete, ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize, former treasurer-general Mathews Phosa and Minister in the Presidency in charge of planning, monitoring and evaluation Jeff Radebe.

The proposal for Sisulu to join the Ramaphosa camp came as a recent poll boosted Sisulu’s campaign: it showed she was third most popular after Ramaphosa and Dlamini-Zuma, with Ramaphosa leading the pack. – ericn@citizen.co.za