ZWELI Mkhize, who quit as South Africa’s health minister last year after he was embroiled in a tender scandal, secured an endorsement to lead the nation’s ruling party from one of its key branches.
The African National Congress in Ward 1 of the eastern coastal eThekwini region, the party’s biggest branch, decided to back Mkhize even though the official nomination process has yet to begin, and will lobby other structures to do likewise, said its chairman, Mbongiseni Hlongwa.
If Mkhize does secure sufficient support to run for the top party job at a conference in December, he’s likely to come up against President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is widely expected to seek a second term. The winner will be the ANC’s presidential candidate in 2024 elections.
“Historically our branch endorses presidents first,” Hlongwa said. “It was us in 2007 which called Jacob Zuma to meet with us and we informed him
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