Ramaphosa to speak at the ANC KZN conference

President of the African National Congress (ANC), Cyril Ramaphosa, will today deliver the party’s elective conference’s closing address, which was held this weekend in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

The so-called “Taliban” wing of the ANC, who have declared their opposition to Ramaphosa’s allies, recently won the election for new leadership in KZN.

Sihle Zikalala was defeated for the position of chair by Siboniso Duma (930 votes to 665).

While Sipho Hlomuka has returned as the Deputy Provincial Secretary, Nomagugu Simelane is now the Deputy Provincial Chairperson.

The new ANC KZN Treasurer is Ntuthuko Mahlaba, while the new provincial secretary is Bheki Mtolo.

President Cyril Ramaphosa would not be concluding the conference due to other engagements, the new ANC KZN Chairperson had earlier stated.

It wasn’t immediately obvious why Ramaphosa wouldn’t be there, but some have speculated that it might be because members of his ANC faction lost to members of the other faction.

Whether Ramaphosa will be well-received at the conference is the current topic.

Speaking at OCC, Duma claimed that Ramaphosa had called to congratulate him and the rest of the new leadership on Sunday morning, July 24, 2022.

Sadly, he has another obligation today, thus the conference will be closed by the chair. The President just sent us heartfelt greetings and congratulations this morning,” Duma remarked.

After businessman and AmaZulu FC manager Sandile Zungu rejected to be nominated from the floor, he faced off against Sihle Zikalala for the role of chairman.

On the other hand, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, the KZN Finance MEC, fell short of the required 25 percent to run for chairman.

Due to the extent of power the two former ANC Youth League leaders had in the past, the Taliban alliance was predicted to prevail, with Duma taking the position of chairperson and Mtolo taking that of secretary.

According to reports, the bloc gained a boost at the last minute from a pact made to bring the RET forces together at the elective conference. They also obtained a strong backing from the eThekwini area.