Jacob Zuma wants to be the ANC chair

Former ANC president Jacob Zuma declares he will stand for election as ANC national chair at the party’s convention in December.

In a statement issued just before midnight on Monday, Zuma also expressed his preference for Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (NDZ), his ex-wife and a current member of the ANC NEC, to run once more for the leadership of the governing party.

Cyril Ramaphosa narrowly defeated Dlamini-Zuma, who has stated that she would prefer a second chance, at the Nasrec conference in December 2017.

Because of her history in the party, the numerous positions she has had in the government since 1994, her “leadership talents and her comprehension and expertise of the ANC, among others,” and other factors, Zuma believes she “remains the best capable to head the ANC.”

In contrast to putting up a better candidate, those opposed to NDZ’s candidacy for ANC president, according to Zuma, have “dismally failed” to do so and have instead thrown out names of “people who have a lot of money.”
He claimed that ANC members had been in touch with him and believed that if he ran for national chair, he might contribute to the alleged rejuvenation of the party.

Jacob Zuma stated that if branches demand for his nomination, he will heed the request and be considered for re-election to the ANC’s top six, a position he has not held for the previous five years.

Zuma is competing with current ANC NEC chair Gwede Mantashe, ANC provincial chair for Limpopo Stan Mathabatha, and SA Communist Party deputy general secretary David Masondo for the position.
The PECs of Mathabatha’s home province and Gauteng have approved him, while the PEC of Mantashe’s home province, the Eastern Cape, has approved him. Masondo has received nominations directly from branches.

Jacob Zuma, who is now on trial for corruption among other allegations, is unable to run for a leadership position under the ANC step-aside rule and electoral committee laws.
Zuma “challenged” the call for senior leaders like himself to step aside and let a younger generation lead the ANC.

In his opinion, the younger generation of party leaders won’t receive a free pass just because of their youth, especially because some of them who have been given the chance to lead have nothing but bad outcomes to show for it.

Sihle Zikalala, the former ANC provincial chairperson for KwaZulu-Natal, and Mdumiseni Ntuli, the former provincial secretary, were singled out for their leadership of an ANC that suffered severe losses in the local government elections of 2021.

Rather than a “generational takeover,” Zuma said he preferred a “generational mix.”

It remains to be seen if Zuma’s bid for national chairman would be accepted or rejected because the ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive committee has not to declare their chosen national officials for come December, an exercise that is likely to place this week.

The newly elected ANC province leaders paid a visit to Zuma’s KwaDakwadunuse house in Nkandla last month.

Also read: ANC Northern Cape endorse Ramaphosa and all six deputy president candidates