Succession debate 'not a priority'

ANC national chairman Baleka Mbete wants the ruling party to retain its tradition of keeping mum on leadership succession until the final hour.

Mbete told the Sunday Times that instead of focusing on whom they want to elect at the national conference in Mangaung, ANC members should focus on drafting policy documents to present at the policy conference in June.

"The priority is the policy debates; the priority is not faces of people or nominations. It's only closer to conference, when we are through with this major and more important part of conference, that we can allow people [to talk succession]. But only at the right time," she said.

ANC structures in Gauteng and a number of other provinces earlier this year called for the opening of the leadership succession debate. The ANC Youth League, which has been vocal about its stance on leadership, also wanted the succession debate to be opened.

The youth league, whose president, Julius Malema, faces a lengthy suspension, wants President Jacob Zuma replaced by Kgalema Motlanthe.

But, at a four-day meeting in August, the ANC national executive committee ordered all structures to refrain from "prematurely" opening the debate. It warned that those who engaged in premature succession debates would be disciplined.

Mbete said focusing on succession would only distract ANC members and leaders from their duties. "I think there are too many challenges of our people that the ANC is charged by history, by the mandate we get from our people, to be preoccupied with, rather than be preoccupied with ourselves and issues of personal preferences."

She said branches and structures that felt strongly about the matter should take it to the policy conference.

"How you change it is by taking it to the policy conference, where even the ANC constitution is open to discussion. So if there are branches that have specific provisions of the constitution that they would like revisited, it's allowed at the policy conference."

She also defended President Jacob Zuma from accusations that he acted against the youth leaders - who had been his allies - only when they started talking badly about him.

"The impression gets created that here is a leader who became impatient and emotional about something he felt subjectively challenged by. That's an unfair statement to make about this particular leader."

She said it was untrue that Zuma acted against Malema and company only when he took offence at being compared to former President Thabo Mbeki .

"That's unfair, that's not accurate. The events that led to the recent actions [against youth league leaders] came way after that particular matter of the comparison."