One of the hopefuls for the position of ANC deputy president believes President Cyril Ramaphosa should have been allowed to run for a second term uncontested.
Mmamoloko Kubayi, head of the ANC economic transformation committee, who has been nominated by branches to challenge for party deputy president in December, said she believed a president who is allowed a second term uncontested becomes immune from factional self-interests.
“My view, and I don’t know whether it will be seen as a non-democratic view, is that if you contest first term and you win, for second term that president must not be contested. The reason being you are allowing him to bring the organisation and the country together.
“You are [shielding] him from factions, from a group that would be seen as people who have supported him and want that allegiance and support and benefit because they have put him there,” she told the Sunday Times in an interview this week.
An uncontested president would be allowed to find a group of men and women within the organisation, across factions, to be able to build a capable cabinet
— Mmamoloko Kubayi
Kubayi, a vocal supporter of the president, said giving Ramaphosa an uncontested second term would have allowed the him to complete the reforms and programmes he set out in the first term, which were disrupted by Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and other unforeseen events.
“I support President Ramaphosa openly. I do believe that he needs to come back, I do believe that like other presidents who were given a second term, we should give him a second term.
“The first term was very difficult in terms of Covid-19 and other things; I don’t think he’s had the opportunity to really have time to focus on the issues he had committed to doing ... building the economy and other things.”
Ramaphosa is being challenged by former health minister Zweli Mkhize, tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu and co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who narrowly lost to Ramaphosa in 2017. Deputy President David Mabuza is also said to be eyeing the position.
Kubayi said because an uncontested president would not be beholden to factions, they would be able to use their second term to pick the best people from all corners of the organisation to build a stronger cabinet.
“This I take from all other presidents previously, where you would have seen an emergence of a group that wants to be closer to the president at the alienation of other comrades. Where sometimes you end up losing good and credible people who could add value to the organisation and the country.
“An uncontested president would be allowed to find a group of men and women within the organisation, across factions, to be able to build a capable cabinet,” she said.
She declined to comment when asked if she feared a possible reversal of economic reforms Ramaphosa has started and a possible return to state capture should he lose in December. She said ANC contestation rules prohibited her from discussing other contenders for the top job.
Kubayi, who is minister of human settlements, said the ANC should learn from its mistakes and create stability for sitting presidents to complete their mandates. She will, however, not be raising this officially at the elective conference at Nasrec.
Meanwhile, she has implored ANC members to use the conference to make sure women are well-represented in the top echelons of the party.
“The ANC has in the past produced capable women leaders, but they have not been affirmed and given responsibility. In the context of where we are, the ANC can’t afford not to have enough women leaders in its top six.”
Kubayi said it was also important for the ANC to use the conference as a platform for renewal and electing capable, ethical leaders.
“My understanding is that there’s no single member of the ANC who is not worried about 2024. We’ve got to work towards ensuring that the conference becomes a reaffirmation to South African society that they can trust us and give us the responsibility to lead government.
“That reaffirmation will come from renewal. Renewal in terms of the election of leaders, renewal in terms of policies that we adopt, but also being able to continue to stand for ethical leadership.”
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