ANC KZN NOMINATION CONFERENCE STATEMENT
25 November 2012
The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday concluded its successful two-day conference which was characterized by frankness, robustness and a comradely spirit that made all sessions to be enjoyable and enlightening.
The conference was convened to consolidate KwaZulu-Natal's policy positions and to combine the province's nominations for preferred leadership to be elected in the National Conference of the ANC to be held in Mangaung in December 2012.
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is happy that the conference was characterized by very productive debates on policy issues. Debates spanned from various and diverse views and individual expressions, scientific theory of our revolution to the experience gained through our daily involvement in our community struggles and serving within state institutions and platforms of service delivery.
Our province is once again leading the way by forsaking the foreign tendencies of coming to conferences for the sole purpose of voting for positions. The conference made history by dedicating more focus on policy matters in order to shape the transformation agenda and usher in a better life for all our people.
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal strongly believes that the difference in the paths and direction the ANC will take post Mangaung depends on the thoroughness of the discussions and preparations to resolve issues that plague our country not on the face of the leadership cadres elected.
"Today (Sunday) we are concluding what has been a very democratic process. Our branches nominated their preferred candidates freely. The fact that more than one name per position were nominated was a clear indication ANC is a democratic organization," said ANC provincial Secretary, Sihle Zikalala.
After a very vigorous nomination process, ANC branches in KwaZulu-Natal nominated the following cadres:
President: Cde President Cde Jacob Zuma [unanimous]
Deputy President: Cde Cyril Ramaphosa [841 votes]
National Chairperson: Cde Baleka Mbethe [863 votes]
Secretary General: Cde Gwede Mantashe, [unanimous]
Deputy Secretary General: Cde Jessie Duarte [834 votes]
Treasure General: Cde Zweli Mkhize. [833 votes]
The conference emphasized the importance of discipline, unity and political maturity to ensure that the ANC will remain united after the Mangaung conference.
Statement issued by the ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala November 26 2012
Source: Politicsweb
Showing posts with label Baleka Mbete. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baleka Mbete. Show all posts
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
ANC infighting derails service delivery: Holomisa
Infighting within the ANC has derailed service delivery in favour of the struggle for power, United Democratic Movement president Bantu Holomisa said on Wednesday. “The attention of the electorate is constantly diverted away from assessing the real performance of government to discussing the ruling party’s endless succession debate,” Holomisa said in a statement. “While this happens, the looting of state resources unabatedly continues.”
He said the same thing happened in the run up to the African National Congress’s conference in Polokwane in 2007. “Service delivery was handicapped by the ruling party’s infighting. The [former president Thabo] Mbeki vs [President Jacob] Zuma saga played itself out in ways that incessantly whittled away the foundations of our democratic dispensation,” said Holomisa. Infighting in the ruling party had taken a turn for the worse.
Holomisa’s statement followed an ANC press briefing on Tuesday at which top officials said the party was united. Zuma, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, ANC treasurer general Mathews Phosa, national chairwoman Baleka Mbete, secretary general Gwede Mantashe and deputy secretary general Thandi Modise addressed the media in Johannesburg as a collective. Holomisa said allowing one political party to be too powerful and dominant created an arrogant government.
“Bearing this in mind, has the time not come for the South African voters to consider putting their eggs in other baskets?” he asked.
Source: The Sowetan
He said the same thing happened in the run up to the African National Congress’s conference in Polokwane in 2007. “Service delivery was handicapped by the ruling party’s infighting. The [former president Thabo] Mbeki vs [President Jacob] Zuma saga played itself out in ways that incessantly whittled away the foundations of our democratic dispensation,” said Holomisa. Infighting in the ruling party had taken a turn for the worse.
Holomisa’s statement followed an ANC press briefing on Tuesday at which top officials said the party was united. Zuma, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, ANC treasurer general Mathews Phosa, national chairwoman Baleka Mbete, secretary general Gwede Mantashe and deputy secretary general Thandi Modise addressed the media in Johannesburg as a collective. Holomisa said allowing one political party to be too powerful and dominant created an arrogant government.
“Bearing this in mind, has the time not come for the South African voters to consider putting their eggs in other baskets?” he asked.
Source: The Sowetan
Friday, September 3, 2010
'Coalition of the wounded' turns on Zuma
A new "coalition of the wounded" has emerged in the ANC ahead of the party's national general council, with many of President Jacob Zuma's once most ardent backers now joining forces to stop his serving a second term. It took slightly more than two years for Zuma to alienate some of his staunchest supporters, including the ANC Youth League. Now his future lies in the hands of the left -- Cosatu and the South African Communist Party -- at a time when alliance relations are at a nadir.
According to several ANC sources linked to the Youth League, the SACP, Cosatu and the government, many party leaders have their eye on higher office or want to punish Zuma for not rewarding them sufficiently for their support in the run-up to the ANC's 2007 Polokwane conference. They are said to include Siphiwe Nyanda, the communications minister, Fikile Mbalula, the deputy police minister, and Julius Malema, the league's president.
Lobbyists wanting Zuma to retain his position at the ANC's next conference in 2012 claim Nyanda aspires to become the party's treasurer general, although this week Nyanda denied this, saying he has "no such intentions". "I can't choose for myself what I want to be. I went to Polokwane as an ordinary branch member of the ANC and was elected to the national executive committee. The ANC decides, I don't have a say," he said.
ANC sources said that Nyanda was also resentful that he had not landed the defence portfolio, which went to Lindiwe Sisulu. Some Zuma supporters are suspicious of former intelligence chief Billy Masetlha, saying he hankers after higher office -- something he denies. Zuma lobbyists say that Masetlha, who was not given a Cabinet position, wants to be in the ANC's "top six", a platform from which, he believes, he can counter detractors effectively. He denied this, saying he had previously been approached to be a minister, but had declined. He said he had no ambition to have a higher office in the ANC. "What is the fun in being in the top six?" he asked. But he did take a dig at his fellow national executive committee members, who needed to "pull up their socks". "Sixty percent of the people in the NEC are doing other things, like this lobbying and pushing their own agendas. They are not doing their jobs." He said his criticisms would make him "even more unpopular than I already am, but I've had enough".
A second group of leaders, calling themselves the "new frontier", is a subgroup of the broad front that questions Zuma's leadership. They are talking to one another and their constituencies about what they see as the erosion of traditional ANC values. Key new frontier members are Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale, Zwelinzima Vavi, Cosatu's general secretary, and Sisulu.
An ANC insider close to them said that they were discussing a return to such values as a rejection of corruption and a clear division between party and state. "The new frontier is where the action is," said the source. "New alliances are coalesced around the future of the ANC and of government and these leaders are having a conversation about what is to be done."
A government official with strong ANC links said that the realignment taking place did not bode well for the national general council, which kicks off on September 20. An ANC-aligned government official said: "Anyone who thinks the NGC can be managed must think again. There is an organic unhappiness that will come out there. Each sector [including the youth and women's leagues] is going to the NGC with a position and that will cause huge debate. There is less talk about tickets and more about where the ANC is going." Although Sisulu has kept a low political profile of late, insiders say that she has been thrown into the mix because of a need to ensure gender representation. She is seen as the most senior women leader in the ANC after national chairperson Baleka Mbete. Mbete, who is currently active in business, is said to have lost interest in furthering her career in the ANC.
Also prominent in the coalition is Malema, who was once quoted as saying he was prepared to "kill for Zuma". As recently as January this year, the league was the only major ANC formation to defend the president. But in April Zuma publicly rebuked him for acting in ways "alien to the ANC" after Malema had defied the ANC NEC by singing the song Shoot the Boer and calling the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe a "Mickey Mouse party". He was later dragged into a humiliating disciplinary process, which forced him to make a public admission of guilt and apologise to Zuma. Malema has joined forces with Fikile Mbalula, a former youth league chief who expected more than a "mere" deputy minister position in return for his efforts in ensuring a Zuma victory at Polokwane, youth league sources say. To show their disdain for his "low-ranking position", Mbalula's supporters are urging Zuma to relieve him of his executive duties and return him to Luthuli House.
Even former Mbeki supporters, previously in the political wilderness, have been roped in to boost the numbers in both the Zuma and anti-Zuma camps. One such a figure, who is being lobbied to support ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe, said Mbeki's former supporters fear a takeover by the Youth League and their circle. "[We are more frightened of] an ANC Youth League takeover, which will destroy the organisation. The Youth League's supporters have no intention of rebuilding or uniting the party -- they just want to use positions to accumulate wealth."
Former ANC leaders in the Western Cape say they are being lobbied to support either of the two camps and are being promised plum government jobs. According to sources, Vavi is being lobbied to take over the position of Blade Nzimande, South African Communist Party boss, giving him a better chance to secure a senior ANC position.
The SACP is holding its elective conference in July 2012, six months before the ANC national conference in Mangaung. Zuma can still rely on Cosatu's support, but in return the federation will expect him to strengthen alliance relations. Masetlha is confident that there is no threat to Zuma, despite the Youth League's withdrawal of support and the opposition of other leaders. "There is no threat to JZ. The ANC cannot be run by children and opportunists. We know where to get them and how to get them, so watch this space," he said.
Cosatu's rank and file still support Zuma, despite the government's response to the two-week public service strike. "The president is still relevant. Our hope is not gone. But his strength comes from the strength of the alliance," said Zet Luzipho, Cosatu's secretary in KwaZulu-Natal.
Source: Mail & Guardian
According to several ANC sources linked to the Youth League, the SACP, Cosatu and the government, many party leaders have their eye on higher office or want to punish Zuma for not rewarding them sufficiently for their support in the run-up to the ANC's 2007 Polokwane conference. They are said to include Siphiwe Nyanda, the communications minister, Fikile Mbalula, the deputy police minister, and Julius Malema, the league's president.
Lobbyists wanting Zuma to retain his position at the ANC's next conference in 2012 claim Nyanda aspires to become the party's treasurer general, although this week Nyanda denied this, saying he has "no such intentions". "I can't choose for myself what I want to be. I went to Polokwane as an ordinary branch member of the ANC and was elected to the national executive committee. The ANC decides, I don't have a say," he said.
ANC sources said that Nyanda was also resentful that he had not landed the defence portfolio, which went to Lindiwe Sisulu. Some Zuma supporters are suspicious of former intelligence chief Billy Masetlha, saying he hankers after higher office -- something he denies. Zuma lobbyists say that Masetlha, who was not given a Cabinet position, wants to be in the ANC's "top six", a platform from which, he believes, he can counter detractors effectively. He denied this, saying he had previously been approached to be a minister, but had declined. He said he had no ambition to have a higher office in the ANC. "What is the fun in being in the top six?" he asked. But he did take a dig at his fellow national executive committee members, who needed to "pull up their socks". "Sixty percent of the people in the NEC are doing other things, like this lobbying and pushing their own agendas. They are not doing their jobs." He said his criticisms would make him "even more unpopular than I already am, but I've had enough".
A second group of leaders, calling themselves the "new frontier", is a subgroup of the broad front that questions Zuma's leadership. They are talking to one another and their constituencies about what they see as the erosion of traditional ANC values. Key new frontier members are Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale, Zwelinzima Vavi, Cosatu's general secretary, and Sisulu.
An ANC insider close to them said that they were discussing a return to such values as a rejection of corruption and a clear division between party and state. "The new frontier is where the action is," said the source. "New alliances are coalesced around the future of the ANC and of government and these leaders are having a conversation about what is to be done."
A government official with strong ANC links said that the realignment taking place did not bode well for the national general council, which kicks off on September 20. An ANC-aligned government official said: "Anyone who thinks the NGC can be managed must think again. There is an organic unhappiness that will come out there. Each sector [including the youth and women's leagues] is going to the NGC with a position and that will cause huge debate. There is less talk about tickets and more about where the ANC is going." Although Sisulu has kept a low political profile of late, insiders say that she has been thrown into the mix because of a need to ensure gender representation. She is seen as the most senior women leader in the ANC after national chairperson Baleka Mbete. Mbete, who is currently active in business, is said to have lost interest in furthering her career in the ANC.
Also prominent in the coalition is Malema, who was once quoted as saying he was prepared to "kill for Zuma". As recently as January this year, the league was the only major ANC formation to defend the president. But in April Zuma publicly rebuked him for acting in ways "alien to the ANC" after Malema had defied the ANC NEC by singing the song Shoot the Boer and calling the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe a "Mickey Mouse party". He was later dragged into a humiliating disciplinary process, which forced him to make a public admission of guilt and apologise to Zuma. Malema has joined forces with Fikile Mbalula, a former youth league chief who expected more than a "mere" deputy minister position in return for his efforts in ensuring a Zuma victory at Polokwane, youth league sources say. To show their disdain for his "low-ranking position", Mbalula's supporters are urging Zuma to relieve him of his executive duties and return him to Luthuli House.
Even former Mbeki supporters, previously in the political wilderness, have been roped in to boost the numbers in both the Zuma and anti-Zuma camps. One such a figure, who is being lobbied to support ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe, said Mbeki's former supporters fear a takeover by the Youth League and their circle. "[We are more frightened of] an ANC Youth League takeover, which will destroy the organisation. The Youth League's supporters have no intention of rebuilding or uniting the party -- they just want to use positions to accumulate wealth."
Former ANC leaders in the Western Cape say they are being lobbied to support either of the two camps and are being promised plum government jobs. According to sources, Vavi is being lobbied to take over the position of Blade Nzimande, South African Communist Party boss, giving him a better chance to secure a senior ANC position.
The SACP is holding its elective conference in July 2012, six months before the ANC national conference in Mangaung. Zuma can still rely on Cosatu's support, but in return the federation will expect him to strengthen alliance relations. Masetlha is confident that there is no threat to Zuma, despite the Youth League's withdrawal of support and the opposition of other leaders. "There is no threat to JZ. The ANC cannot be run by children and opportunists. We know where to get them and how to get them, so watch this space," he said.
Cosatu's rank and file still support Zuma, despite the government's response to the two-week public service strike. "The president is still relevant. Our hope is not gone. But his strength comes from the strength of the alliance," said Zet Luzipho, Cosatu's secretary in KwaZulu-Natal.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, August 13, 2010
How Amsa outwitted DTI
Steel giant ArcelorMittal South Africa (Amsa) appears to have found a political solution to its commercial problems by announcing two deals involving controversial Imperial Crown Trading (ICT). ArcelorMittal will buy ICT for R800-million if it is able to convert its prospecting rights at Sishen to full mining rights in its contested battle with iron ore giant, Kumba. It has also announced a BEE deal in which ICT's politically connected shareholders feature prominently.
ArcelorMittal has fought a low-intensity war with the government, which has been keen to see it pass on the benefits of the special developmental pricing it enjoys in securing cheap iron ore, such as from the giant Sishen mine. Its special pricing deal with Kumba's Sishen Iron Ore Company, intended to help supply the country with cheap steel, has been worth as much as R5-billion a year to the steel giant, according to one analyst. But ArcelorMittal has responded with aggressive pricing, which has seen it in an ongoing conflict with the authorities and has to date not moved to bring in empowerment shareholders.
Frustration with Arcelor-Mittal led the government earlier this year to threaten forced divestiture of its assets as a means to bring it to book. An analyst, who asked not to be named because of the political sensitivity of the matter, said that, by dealing with ICT, Amsa had legitimised an underhand process.
The deals with ICT have drawn fire because ArcelorMittal is seen to be siding with a party that secured these rights under irregular and possibly illegal circumstances. ICT won the right to prospect on an existing mine, one of the world's largest.
President Jacob Zuma's son, Duduzane, is a primary beneficiary of the ArcelorMittal deals with ICT, as are the Gupta family, who are known to have close links to the president. The Guptas are already very wealthy and, as natives of India, are not previously disadvantaged. While the deal will leave Amsa empowered, the inclusion of ICT, Zuma and the Guptas in the empowerment transaction has undermined real transformation in the sector, critics complain.
The Mail & Guardian has confirmed that ANC national chairperson Baleka Mbete pulled out of the deal. "I was approached with an offer to participate; I declined. The deal's structure was outside the investment philosophy and criteria of our women's group," Mbete said. She did not specify which women's group she was referring to. But it is understood that Mbete was talking to ArcelorMittal before the ICT controversy broke, and that she and her group withdrew only last week.
Earlier this year it was announced that ICT had been awarded the prospecting right to a 21% residual portion of mining rights in Sishen, which had reverted to the state in 2009. ArcelorMittal, the former owner of the rights, failed to convert them to new order rights, as required under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act.
The share was critical to a supply contract between Amsa and Kumba, whereby Amsa was entitled to more than six-million tonnes from Sishen at cost plus 3%. When the rights reverted to the state, Kumba demanded that Amsa buy iron ore at market prices. While this dispute is now subject to arbitration, it led to Amsa instituting a R600/tonne surcharge on its products.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was so incensed by the Sishen surcharge that it took the matter to the Competition Commission, which is investigating it. The surcharge, which ran between May and August this year, was halted when Kumba and Amsa came to an interim pricing agreement pending arbitration.
Rob Davies, the trade and industry minister, refused to comment on the particulars of the deal, but said the ministry intended to ensure a competitive steel price and a local manufacturing industry. The ministry also wanted to ensure that some of the iron ore from Sishen would be made available at concessionary prices for local steel manufacturing. Analysts view the Amsa deal as commercially savvy, if unpalatable.
Source: Mail & Guardian
ArcelorMittal has fought a low-intensity war with the government, which has been keen to see it pass on the benefits of the special developmental pricing it enjoys in securing cheap iron ore, such as from the giant Sishen mine. Its special pricing deal with Kumba's Sishen Iron Ore Company, intended to help supply the country with cheap steel, has been worth as much as R5-billion a year to the steel giant, according to one analyst. But ArcelorMittal has responded with aggressive pricing, which has seen it in an ongoing conflict with the authorities and has to date not moved to bring in empowerment shareholders.
Frustration with Arcelor-Mittal led the government earlier this year to threaten forced divestiture of its assets as a means to bring it to book. An analyst, who asked not to be named because of the political sensitivity of the matter, said that, by dealing with ICT, Amsa had legitimised an underhand process.
The deals with ICT have drawn fire because ArcelorMittal is seen to be siding with a party that secured these rights under irregular and possibly illegal circumstances. ICT won the right to prospect on an existing mine, one of the world's largest.
President Jacob Zuma's son, Duduzane, is a primary beneficiary of the ArcelorMittal deals with ICT, as are the Gupta family, who are known to have close links to the president. The Guptas are already very wealthy and, as natives of India, are not previously disadvantaged. While the deal will leave Amsa empowered, the inclusion of ICT, Zuma and the Guptas in the empowerment transaction has undermined real transformation in the sector, critics complain.
The Mail & Guardian has confirmed that ANC national chairperson Baleka Mbete pulled out of the deal. "I was approached with an offer to participate; I declined. The deal's structure was outside the investment philosophy and criteria of our women's group," Mbete said. She did not specify which women's group she was referring to. But it is understood that Mbete was talking to ArcelorMittal before the ICT controversy broke, and that she and her group withdrew only last week.
Earlier this year it was announced that ICT had been awarded the prospecting right to a 21% residual portion of mining rights in Sishen, which had reverted to the state in 2009. ArcelorMittal, the former owner of the rights, failed to convert them to new order rights, as required under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act.
The share was critical to a supply contract between Amsa and Kumba, whereby Amsa was entitled to more than six-million tonnes from Sishen at cost plus 3%. When the rights reverted to the state, Kumba demanded that Amsa buy iron ore at market prices. While this dispute is now subject to arbitration, it led to Amsa instituting a R600/tonne surcharge on its products.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was so incensed by the Sishen surcharge that it took the matter to the Competition Commission, which is investigating it. The surcharge, which ran between May and August this year, was halted when Kumba and Amsa came to an interim pricing agreement pending arbitration.
Rob Davies, the trade and industry minister, refused to comment on the particulars of the deal, but said the ministry intended to ensure a competitive steel price and a local manufacturing industry. The ministry also wanted to ensure that some of the iron ore from Sishen would be made available at concessionary prices for local steel manufacturing. Analysts view the Amsa deal as commercially savvy, if unpalatable.
Source: Mail & Guardian
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