THE ANC’s succession debate took a new twist yesterday with the party’s secretary general Gwede Mantashe intimating he might also be interested in the top job.
Mantashe was addressing hundreds of SA Communist Party supporters at the East London City Hall where he dismissed reports he was in the province to lobby support for ANC presidential hopeful Cyril Ramaphosa.
He said he could not accept being reduced to a “bag carrier” or a “runner” for another man
“We are not runners of a certain candidate but leaders of the movement. We have a right to be candidates ourselves. We are not bag carriers of anyone,” said Mantashe, to applause from the crowd.
The event was organised by the Young Communist League to launch its annual Joe Slovo Right to Learn Campaign.
It comes as the ANC is scheduled to hold its national general council, which precedes the national congress where the governing party’s new leaders will be elected in December.
Mantashe said ANC members must continue debating principles around the kind of leadership they wanted to take the organisation forward.
He warned against slates.
“The ANC will always have to elect leaders from time to time but in doing so it must seek to elect leaders who have the qualities and capacity to deal with challenges at the time.
“So that challenge says, we cannot talk to slates that are thrown at the branches.
“We must debate the programme and then debate the name because everything must be an effort to put a team together that will be able to deal with everything including the challenges of the time.”
He said the ANC’s own guiding document, “Through the eye of the needle”, warned against lobbyists and individuals with selfish personal ambitions.
“We have also been warned against those who want us to field their relatives as well as those with personal interest because some use these political positions as a vehicle to do another mission.
“That is where the value of wisdom of people like Joe Slovo will come handy to the current challenges,” Mantashe added.
Speaking before Mantashe, SACP second deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila slated “ill-disciplined” leaders in the ANC, whom he accused of undermining Mantashe’s office.
“Many things go wrong in the movement. There is collective leadership but they are always shifted to one centre that is coordinated through the secretary general’s office.
“That office is being undermined by ill disciplined leaders of the movement. That office must be strong and fix the movement,” said Mapaila.
Mapaila, a fierce Zuma critic, sent a warning to the ANC saying that if the party failed to take action against those who manipulate membership by buying votes, then the credibility of the December elective conference would be undermined.
“We must dismantle factions in the ANC not just by mere word, but take action against ANC leaders that are involved in (vote buying).
“If you (Mantashe) fail to do that, I can tell you, there is no way you will have a good conference after this,” he added.
The YCL was expected to throw their weight behind Cyril Ramaphosa as their preferred presidential candidate.
ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane also attended the event and had glowing words to describe Mantashe.
Mabuyane said Mantashe was an educationist, who “knows the importance of not just using one’s natural intelligence but to go on to study further.
“Those are the kind of leaders we need for the challenges ahead,” said Mabuyane – in what could be a veiled reference to Zuma who has no formal schooling.