Vice President David Mabuza.
- The ANC will clarify in two weeks whether David Mabuza will continue as vice president.
- Mabuza was replaced as ANC vice-chairman by Paul Mashatile at last month’s conference.
- According to ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula, party leaders are “applying their minds” to the matter.
In the next two weeks, the ANC will clarify whether David Mabuza will continue in his role as vice president of the country, despite losing to Paul Mashatile as party vice president last month.
This was confirmed by the newly elected ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula on Thursday morning.
Mbalula was addressing the media at the Imvelo Safari Lodge, some 5km from Bloemfontein, where the ANC is concluding its 55th hybrid national elective conference, which the party failed to conclude in December.
“What I can tell you right now is that we are busy with these matters. [deliberating on whether to reshuffle Cabinet or not following some ministers not making it onto the new national executive committee]. In the next two weeks, not five years, we will be able to give you an answer.”
He said the newly elected ANC officials “will apply their minds to the matter”.
Mbalula said:
In the next few weeks we will tell you whether or not we want to make changes since the vice president is no longer the vice president of the ANC.
He said he would not give further details because he did not want to mislead the public before the ANC takes a position.
“The president is also looking at the replacement issue in the cabinet. So in the next week after this national elective conference, we will be hard at work in terms of the new restructuring.”
Mabuza, whose support in the party has dwindled, rejected his nomination from the plenary, clearing the way for Mashatile, who defeated Ronald Lamola and Eastern Cape ANC chairman Oscar Mabuyane.
In addition to Mabuza, five ministers, Thulas Nxesi, Nkoane Maite-Mashabane, Naledi Pandor, Blade Nzimande and Pravin Gordhan, were also not voted back into the NEC.
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At least four deputy ministers also did not return to the NEC.
President Cyril Ramaphosa opened the second session of the ANC’s national elective conference on Thursday morning after it was adjourned last month, following severe delays that led to the program not being completed.
The second phase of the conference also suffered some delays as proceedings started two and a half hours late at 10:30.
Mbalula explained that the delays were due to delegates from the Western Cape struggling to connect.
He said that the challenges had been resolved and the conference was now proceeding without technical problems.
Mbalula stressed that while the first session of the conference focused on the election of leaders, the second session should focus on issues affecting South Africans.
“The second stage should deal with the issues that affect our people, like Eskom and other issues, since we are done with the election of leaders.”
