PHUTI MOSOMANE
ANC Limpopo chair Stan Mathabatha has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa and his lobbyists for dumping him at an eleventh hour in favour of newly elected national chairperson, Gwede Mantashe.
At the start of the conference, Limpopo was one of the provinces united in its support of Ramaphosa.
Delegates from the province were also mandated by their branches to vote for Ramaphosa for the position of President.
But on the eve of the elections, Mathabatha was lobbied to dump Ramaphosa in favour of former Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize in return for KwaZulu-Natal putting its weight behind him for the position of National Chairperson.
After negotiations with KZN lobbyists, Mathabatha openly endorsed Mkhize just hours before the elections.
He said the decision to support Mkhize followed a meeting of provincial executive committee (PEC) where it was agreed that Ramaphosa and his people were no longer supporting Mathabatha for the position of National Chairperson.
“At the PEC meeting, we realised there was a problem with Ramaphosa and his lobbyists. We agreed as the PEC that we were being pushed away. After this we went to look for something of better value for branches of the ANC.”
“We had to make a very difficult choice … whether we dump the five names we agreed upon before conference. But our delegates were not prepared to hear anything. Nothing at all. I had to put my emotions away, including my personal preferences for the President [Ramaphosa] and salvage the five names agreed upon. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place,” he added.
Mathabatha said he reached out to the President, but there was no answer or response from him.
Lobbyists for Ramaphosa also ignored his requests for a meeting to discuss the issue of nominations.
On Tuesday, Mathabatha announced that he would be meeting the newly re-elected President Ramaphosa at an appropriate time.
“I respect the President as a person. There is no fight between us. People around him pushed us away. We have a good relationship. We will meet this week if he has time,” said Mathabatha who feels sidelined by the President’s negotiators.
Mathabatha said it is not true that Limpopo lost in the elections.
“Out of the six names given by the branches, three were elected and that includes President Ramaphosa, Deputy President Paul Mashatile and first deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane,” said Mathabatha.
“Limpopo ANC branches wanted Cyril Ramaphosa as President, Paul Mashatile as deputy president, Stan Mathabatha as national chairperson, Mdumiseni Ntuli for Secretary-general, Nomvula Mokonyane as deputy-secretary and Bejani Chauke as treasurer-general.”
But in a statement issued on Sunday, the PEC said it noted some statements making rounds in media platforms “wherein an unfortunate impression was created that we have deserted the outcomes of Branch General Meetings”.
“The ANC Limpopo PEC hereby distances itself from such an assertion as it is not a true reflection of the ANC PEC decision and or Branch General Meetings. At no stage the ANC Limpopo PEC met and decided along those lines,” Reuben Madadzhe said in a statement.
Madadzhe said Limpopo province supports the outcomes of the branch general meetings, which affirmed “Cyril Ramaphosa for president, Paul Mashatile as his deputy, Ndumiseni Ntuli as secretary general, Nomvula Mokonyane as deputy secretary general, Bejani Chauke as treasurer general and Stanley Mathabatha as national chairperson.”
Mathabatha was one of the first ANC provincial chairpersons to endorse Ramaphosa even before nominations were officially opened.
INSIDE POLITICS
