ANC Eastern Cape provincial chairperson Oscar Mabuyane is being coy about whether he will contest for the position of deputy president of the ANC.
Mabuyane has also challenged the notion that the ANC needs to field its senior leaders in the metros to claw back support.
In an interview with the Sunday Times on the sidelines of the party’s national general council, Mabuyane said he still needs to flex his muscles at the provincial conference next year, where he will be contesting for a third term.
“The discussion is all out. Everybody is discussing a unit of the ANC. Everyone would want to see an ANC that is united, an ANC that can manage its transition much better. As a province, we are not going to shy away from that discussion. We are not yet discussing any names on who becomes what, that is a function of branches.”
Despite regions having endorsed him for a third term, Mabuyane said he still needs the buy-in of the branches.
“We will be having a conference of branches, not a conference of regions. Regions can express themselves, but come March branches will have to nominate, and at that time I’ll be able to talk to branches.”
With appropriate support, appropriate systems, those women will be able to prevail. I have all the trust in them, and we will make sure they succeed.
— Oscar Mabuyane, ANC Eastern Cape provincial chairperson
Speaking about the debate about the ANC’s metro candidates, Mabuyane said ministers would not fit in the coal face of service delivery.
The ANC has been debating whether it should field its senior leaders, including ministers and former ministers, as their candidates for the 2026 elections. This is in reaction to the DA and other parties who are looking to field high-profile candidates for metro mayors.
The DA’s decision to announce its party veteran and federal council chair Helen Zille has led to the ANC re-strategising its campaign strategy for next year. Zille is a former Cape Town mayor and Western Cape premier.
Mabuyane said seniority of ministers was not a “barometer to measure the capability of individuals”.
Mabuyane said the Eastern Cape metros of Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay had capable chairpersons who would be up to the task of being mayoral candidates in the next elections.
“If it’s like that, it will be wrong. I can tell you many ministers will never fit at the coal face of service delivery where our people are. We have strong individuals, we are looking at the capacity of each and every individual. That individual must be supported. I believe in that,” he said.
Mabuyane said the party had sorted out some teething problems with its regional leaders and it now had capable women at both metros.
“With appropriate support, appropriate systems, those women will be able to prevail. I have all the trust in them, and we will make sure they succeed.”
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