KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala’s bid for a second term as African National Congress (ANC) chairperson was shattered on Saturday as Siboniso Duma was elected for the top job at the 9th provincial conference which is underway in Durban.
Duma received 930 votes while Zikalala only managed to secure 665 votes. The newly elected leaders known as RET-Talibans made a clean sweep of the top positions.
Duma said it will not be business as usual for the ANC in the province, following their clean sweep of the top five positions of leadership. He said the dissolved Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) was working very hard to ensure that services were delivered to the people of KwaZulu-Natal.
Duma thanked the outgoing Provincial Chairperson Sihle Zikalala, along with Mdumiseni Ntuli, the former Provincial Secretary, in ensuring that unity prevails within the ANC. He promised not to disappoint those who elected him to the province’s top position.
“We must thank the role that has been played by the out-going PEC that has been led by comrade Sihle Zikalala, who is now the former Chairperson, who’s currently the premier of KwaZulu-Natal. So he is our comrade, comrade Mdumiseni Ntuli, they’ve done a stelling job and the conference is the true reflection of that, and although, comrade TG, according to the media, the conference must have contradictions, it is not smooth if it is just an equilibrium, but according to what we have, it is a good thing, we are comfortable.”
Zikalala’s loss is a blow to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who will be seeking a second term in December. Zikalala’s slate was completely defeated by the pro-RET Taliban slate.
Source: Eyewitness News, SABC News, The Citizen, News24, image from Twitter