By Akani Nkuna
MK Party President Jacob Zuma on Thursday unveiled former ANC MP and NEC member Tony Yengeni as the party’s Second Deputy President.
Yengeni’s new role includes overseeing the party’s daily operations and strengthening its international relations across the African continent.
The party announced that Zuma decided to appoint a second Deputy President to oversee internal and broader political organisational issues, given the magnitude of international relations and geopolitical work he continues to do.
Zuma, on the other hand, clarified that the roles of the two deputy presidents will not overlap, noting that the longstanding Deputy, John Hlophe, will continue to serve as the party’s first Deputy President and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly.
“Given the growth of our organisation, we want Hlophe to concentrate mainly on parliament — dealing with legislative and legal matters. He cannot do that and also manage the office,” Zuma said.
“We have therefore added another leader who will be with us on the ground. Partly because the current president of the MK Party is elderly, we are strengthening the leadership capacity of our organisation.”
Zuma hailed Yengeni’s appointment as both strategic and necessary, describing him as a trustworthy comrade whose leadership and patriotism were forged in the shared struggles of the apartheid era.
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