Leaders who not prepared to serve the people must step aside – Ramaphosa
13 May 2019
The ANC is expected to spend most of Monday mulling over its premier candidates for eight of the nine provinces it won, and some national executive committee (NEC) members say they expect no surprises to come from the party's special NEC meeting in Irene.
The governing party managed to cling to power following last week's national elections, winning over 57.51% of the electorate.
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa promised that the party would make "good" on its promise to voters.
"Now we have a clear mandate and can say we are going to do what our people want us to do. We are going to do what our people have wished for. We are now clear," he said on Sunday.
He made the comments outside the ANC's Luthuli House headquarters in the Johannesburg CBD on Sunday as the ANC celebrated its elections victory.
Ramaphosa also shared details of upcoming events, including the swearing in of members of the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures, the inauguration of the president, the appointment of a speaker of Parliament, as well as the appointments of premiers and his Cabinet.
"Once the NEC appoints, then we must rally behind and support the premiers which we are going to appoint," the ANC president said.
Regarding the much-anticipated appointment of his Cabinet members, the president said he would appoint people who had dedicated themselves to working towards furthering the interests of society.
"We are going to appoint men and women who have dedicated themselves to work for the interests of our people, men and women who are capable, who have great energy, who are visionaries, men and women who know their story - not those who don't know whether they are coming or going," said Ramaphosa.
News24 has spoken to at least three sources who said they expected very few issues when the NEC meets.
"It's really not that big a meeting. Very little is expected. We are going to keep the premiers as they are. They will be joined by maybe Sihle (Zikalala) and Zamani (Saul) and Oscar Mabuyane," one NEC member said.
The party insider said the only objection that was likely to arise would come from the ANC Women's League which wanted 50/50 representation. Presently, there are only two female premiers.
"They won't win that argument. I don't think so. There are already two women serving in the position of premier," the ANC insider continued.
The NEC will sift through a list of premier candidates from its eight provinces. All provinces are expected to deliver a list of up to three candidates for the national executive to consider.
Another source said the three ANC chairs (Zikalala, Saul, Mabuyane) who were set for the premier positions were being rewarded for retaining provinces.
"There are no surprises there. We expect the names that were set for that office to be appointed. We have to remember that people like David (Makhura), Zikalala, Saul and Mabuyane led campaigns and won in provinces that were critical to the victory of the organisation," he said.
A third party insider said he was confident Makhura would retain his position in the provincial cabinet. The insider said in spite of the poor showing in polling, they still believe in Makhura.
"He is number one on our list. We want him back."
In Gauteng, the party managed to cling to power winning the province with a meagre 50.19%, bringing it down by 4 seats in the legislature.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the party won by 54.22%, down from its 64% win in 2014, decreasing its number of seats by two.
In the Eastern Cape, the ANC lost one seat in the legislature, dropping from its 2014 result to 68.74%.
