WATCH: Masualle will stay premier, says Oscar

Allowing Masualle to complete his term – should Mabuyane be elected – will be a different approach to the one taken by KwaZulu-Natal, where Sihle Zikalala’s provincial executive committee (PEC) fired provincial chairperson Senzo Mchunu as the premier after the latter was defeated in a highly contested conference in 2015.

In an exclusive interview with the Dispatch yesterday, Mabuyane said Masualle’s cabinet had no reason to fear for their jobs as he would remain at the party’s Calata House headquarters to monitor performance of deployees in government until the end of the term.

“The leadership of the state is given five years. What we will be doing is to tighten up screws and monitor performance.

“ANC conferences are not for electing premiers. They elect ANC leaders.

“So there is no way that you would have an ANC conference electing government leaders,” said Mabuyane

However, Mabuyane also warned that: “We are not going to wait for five years when people are underperforming, because the ANC has to win the next elections .”

He said the party can only win elections “if it is effective and reaching out to its constituency and the people”.

Mabuyane, who has been officially nominated by his own branch in the Chris Hani region, said he would not say no to the nomination from branches who want him to contest the prized position of provincial chairman at the elective conference next month.

“In the ANC you are told where to go. You don’t tell people where you want to be. If the ANC says I should stand as chairman, I won’t say no I never chose to become the provincial secretary in the first place.

“If ANC members say go to the national executive committee, who am I to say no? They are our bosses. I won’t say no, definitely,” said Mabuyane.

The provincial conference will be held on September 3 in East London.

Already party branches are divided into two factions – one supporting Mabuyane while the other one wants Masualle to remain as chairman for a third term.

In Mabuyane’s lineup, OR Tambo’s Lulama Ngcukaitobi is likely to contest as provincial secretary and will go up against either Ten-ten Pikinini or An-dile Lungisa, who both feature on Masualle’s slate.

Branch general meetings, which nominate delegates for the provincial conference, started in earnest last week.

Mabuyane’s ward 6 branch in Ngcobo met on Tuesday and endorsed him to stand as provincial chairman.

While most branches want either Masualle or Mabuyane as chairman, other branches such as the Getyese branch in ward 6 at Sakhizizwe want the status quo to remain – with both leaders returning to their current positions.

The branch also wants all the other top officials retained, saying it is for the sake of unity.

Dr WB Rubusana region’s executive in Buffalo City was the first to declare it would plead with its branches to retain the status quo for the sake of unity.

However, Mabuyane said this amounted to reducing unity to people’s names.

The ANC also held bilateral talks with the SA Communist Party on Monday, where it was suggested that Mabuyane and Masualle should not contest each other.

Mabuyane confirmed the meeting, and said the suggestion was rejected simply because “unity is not about whether Mabuyane is contesting Phumulo”.

“Unity can still be attained where the two are contesting each other”.

He said sugar-coating issues by reducing unity to two personalities “is a problem because positions in the ANC always become vacant, so everyone who meets the criteria as outlined in the ANC constitution can be available to stand. That is an ANC process.”