Second blow for Dlamini-Zuma
Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has asserted his dominance in Limpopo as preferred presidential candidate when his coterie won the Vhembe regional elective conference in his home town over the weekend.
LIMPOPO – The conference was held in Tshedza Lodge, Makhado on Friday and Saturday, which marked the second defeat of the Dlamini-Zuma camp following the Sekhukhune regional conference defeat recently in which Stanley Ramaila emerged as elected Regional Chairperson and Jerry Maseko as Regional Secretary.
The Vhembe conference was held for the second time after the initial conference was postponed when disagreements between the Ramaphosa and Dlamini-Zuma camps emerged over candidate credentials.
The ANC’s Provincial Executive Committee resolved the situation by postponing the event.
From the Ramaphosa stable, Tshitereke Matibe was re-elected as Vhembe Regional Chairman after defeating former Thulamela Municipal Manager and ANC Provincial Spokesperson, Makonde Mathivha. Mathivha is said to be aligned to a lobby group that supports former AU Commission Chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as presential candidate, going into the elective conference in December.
Matibe received 161 to 153 votes while Anderson Mudunungu, who was elected as Regional Secretary, received 169 to 144 votes to win a fiercely contested race against David Muthavhasindi.
The newly elected Chairperson, Tshitereke Matibe, said their duty as a region is to unite the branches of the ANC.
“Jubilation is the order of the day. I am very thrilled that once again ANC branches in the Vhembe region have entrusted me to lead them to greener pastures,” said Matibe after the conference.
“We have the daunting task of helping government to deliver practical and exuberant services that will change people’s lives for the better. We are currently working hands in glove with communities for better social cohesion in an effort to improve lives and fight the scourge of tribalism that has begun to rear its ugly head in the region. Our duty as the newly elected leadership is to unite the branches of the ANC.”
Matibe also said a reshuffle was not on the cards as the duty of deployment is handled by the party’s PEC.
The ANC will hold its national elective conference in December this year where a crop of new leadership will be elected.
At the moment, two election battalions, Ramaphosa and Dlamini-Zuma lead the pack for the battle of the party’s top job.
CV can exclusively reveal that over the weekend, the Vhembe regional elective conference took a resolution to support Ramaphosa to replace Zuma as party president in December.
“We took a resolution to support the party’s deputy president as the next ANC president,” said Regional Secretary Mudunungu.
“We believe Ramaphosa is a tried and tested cadre who knows the politics of the ANC inside-out. Ramaphosa is the future and he is the only cadre who will be able to bring the ANC back to its former glory,” he added.
Another delegate who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal identified Ramaphosa as a “son of the soil”.
“You know what they say: Charity begins at home and Ramaphosa was bred here in Venda. Logic would then tell you that comrade Cyril is our messiah whom we believe will unite the ANC and deliver the party to the 2019 national government elections,” said the delegate.
One branch delegate belonging to the Dlamini-Zuma camp said they would continue to rally behind the elected leadership.
