Dr Zweli Mkhize’s lobby team is forging ahead to contest the position of the president as ANC seeks to elect new leaders at its elective conference.
Mkhize’s chief lobbyist Simphiwe Blose refuted claims that Mkhize and his team had succumbed to president Cyril Ramaphosa who is seeking a second term. Blose said that Mkhize and Ramaphosa’s faction had not met and that there were no plans to have any discussions with them this afternoon.
“We are in it for a win, and we will not bow down to anyone as we respect the will of our branches and all structures of the ANC which have called for Mkhize to lead the movement. We are clear about the position of President and all those we have been speaking to are clear about this. Mkhize will close the conference and the ANC will be renewed as required,” said Blose.
The former Health Minister and NEC member is tipped to become the next ANC president if he defeats Ramaphosa whose presidency has been rocked with actions as the ANC battled to end internal divisions.
An ANC insider said that Ramaphosa’s term has further divided the movement which saw its Secretary-General Ace Magashule suspended after he was criminally charged and forced to step aside.
Magashule decided his suspension, stating that it was part of the broader plan to weaken the ANC and render it useless which would make way for a coalition government where pro-black policies would be impossible to implement.
Ramaphosa has faced a lot of criticism from within as former president Jacob Zuma has also criticized the head of state for vote buying and bringing the ANC into disrepute.
Addressing a gathering in Durban last month, Zuma told members of the ANC and his supporters that the head of state that Ramaphosa had "manipulated the democratic process".
“Cyril Ramaphosa has clearly been accused of spending a lot of money to buy his position as ANC president, and paid lots of money which we do not know where it came from in order to win the conference,” said Zuma.
The financing of Ramaphosa's campaign for the ANC leadership in 2017 caused controversy. He was accused of lying to parliament about a R500 000 donation from an industrial group.
Ramaphosa successfully any attempt to reveal the names of his funders who are said to be some of the leading businessmen in the country, through the courts.