STAFF REPORTER|
THE much-anticipated ANC elective conference in KwaZulu-Natal is expected to go ahead on Friday after a series of postponements due to several disputes, the party’s provincial secretary, Mdumiseni Ntuli, confirmed on Thursday.
The provincial elective conference will be held at the Olive Convention Centre in Durban from July 22 to 24.
Addressing the media in Durban on Thursday on the state of readiness, Ntuli, said: “We are expecting this conference to be the biggest political school that has taken place in KwaZulu-Natal over the past four years.”
Ntuli said a total of about 1 617 voting delegates were expected to attend the party’s 9th provincial conference.
“We are not expecting any major problems,” he said.
“We have conducted a pre-registration process in all our regions, and today, we are registering members of the provincial executive committee, non-voting delegates, as well as leagues and regional executive committee members. The report we received this morning indicates that at least 95% of our branch delegates have now registered.”
The contest for the position to lead the party in the province is between the incumbent chairperson, Premier Sihle Zikalala; Finance MEC, Nomusa Dube-Ncube; Community Safety MEC, Peggy Nkonyeni; former KwaZulu-Natal Government Director-General, Nhlanhla Ngidi, and prominent businessman, Sandile Zungu.
The current chair in the eThekwini region and former eThekwini mayor, Zandile Gumede, who was tipped to contest the Treasurer’s position, is among those who cannot contest for positions due to the party’s step aside rule.
The acting ANC Secretary-General, Paul Mashatile, is expected to officially open the conference on Friday.
ANC President, Cyril Ramaphosa, is also expected to deliver closing remarks on Sunday, but Ntuli said the party’s head office was yet to get confirmation from Luthuli House.
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