Simon Nare
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula’s presidential campaign for the party’s top job got a shot in the arm in Gauteng when his allies at the Tshwane regional conference came up trumps.
Key allies Eugene Modise was re-elected unopposed as chairman, and George Matjila was re-elected unopposed as regional secretary.
The victory by Mbalula’s allies makes up for the defeat in the Johannesburg region conference, where his allies lost to Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s allies, who are also positioning themselves to take over when President Cyril Ramaphosa’s term comes to an end at the ANC elective conference in 2027.
Sam Mashola also retained his position as deputy secretary.
The only contested positions were those of deputy chairperson and treasurer, which were decided at the ballot.
Tlangi Mogale secured the deputy chairperson post, and James Shelenge beat two other candidates to the treasury position.
The top six is dominated by Mbalula’s allies while those aligned to Panyaza Lesufi — who at some point was reportedly leaning towards Mashatile to run as his deputy in 2027 — came second best. This is a setback for Mashatile’s campaign after a victory in the Johannesburg region.
Mogale is the only known Lesufi ally who made it to the top five.
Mbalula was scheduled to deliver the closing address at the conference on Sunday.
The conference kicked off amid tension between the two factions, with Modise cautioning delegates against allowing leadership contests to weaken the organisation, warning that factional behaviour remained the ANC’s greatest threat.
“The only thing that is going to make us not win elections is our behaviour,” Modise said, urging unity beyond the conference.
Modise also stressed that conferences should not become an obsession with positions, saying: “A conference is an event, but beyond the conference, the ANC must live and must lead,” as he called on members to focus on organisational work on the ground rather than internal battles.
ANC NEC member Khumbudzo Ntshavheni echoed Modise’s sentiments, emphasising that the members should adhere to internal processes to resolve disputes, which she described as a critical pillar in the efforts of the party to rebuild and renew the organisation.
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