SAMKELO MTSHALI
ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson candidate Sandile Zungu says he would leave business if elected by branches at the party’s 9th provincial conference in Durban this weekend.
On Tuesday the AmaZulu Football Club owner officially threw his hat into the ring to contest for the ANC KZN provincial chairperson position currently held by Sihle Zikalala, who is seeking re-election.
Another of Zungu’s competitors for the leadership role is KZN member of the executive council for finance Nomusa Dube Ncube, who is seeking to become the first female provincial chairperson of the ANC in the party’s 110 year history.
Speaking to the Sunday Tribune Zungu, who was nominated by a branch in Umlazi, ward 81, said his campaign had received nominations from branches in all the 11 regions, but added that they would know exactly how many branches had thrown their weight behind him when the conference starts on Friday.
“We’re quite confident that we have received strong support from all the regions,” Zungu said.
He said he was prepared to leave business to focus on being an agent for rebuilding trust between the ANC and the people.
Zungu said the delegates chosen to participate in the conference had all the power and he hoped they would give him the mandate to lead the ANC in the province. He added that if they didn’t and he was not elected, he still had “a huge job to do in business”.
“I’ll obviously interpret it as that my endeavours have not been received well and it’s all in the democratic process,” Zungu said.
Late last month, Zungu visited former President Jacob Zuma’s home to seek his blessings for his campaign and wisdom, stating that this was necessary as the former head of state was one of the most influential leaders not only in KZN but in the country.
“If you consider that he has run KZN in the past, he’s clearly someone that you would seek advice from on what he thinks are the challenges that face the organisation. One thing that he feels very strongly about is the issue of social distance, that effectively the people of KZN don’t feel the ANC is as close to them as it used to be,” Zungu said.
“It’s quite important that if one is entrusted by branches with the responsibility of leading, that the key priority must be to bring the movement closer to the people and that’s one of the major takeaways from my meeting with him.”
Elaborating on key takeaways from his meeting with Zuma, Zungu said he agreed with the former president that there was a need for the ANC in the province to secure electoral victory in 2024.
“We all share the concern vision that without state power in the province we are on a downward spiral as an organisation. It’s quite important that we use the next 24 months, effectively, to demonstrate to the electorate that we are changing gear and renewing our trust and connection with the electorate,” Zungu said.
“We want to do this so that come 2024 when we go out to campaign our message resonates with the people and we get the support that we so genuinely need because a lot of work needs to be done.”
He said that the ANC’s “a better life for all” was a noble objective that still needed to be accomplished and that from his discussions with Zuma he also picked up that the economic potential of the province had not been fully realised.
“He is undoubtedly the father of the oceans economy concept and KZN has got one of the most enabling coastlines from an oceans economic point of view and he really believes that right from Kokstad all the way to Richards Bay that coastline is very ideal for massive economic activity.
“The idea of politics and economy being married is very critical to him, he sees that as a low hanging fruit and it’s something that excites him about seeing someone like myself rising,” Zungu said.