ANC faction to boycott Cyril’s keynote speech

Detractors of newly-elected ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa are planning to boycott his maiden January 8 statement.

The disgruntled group from the North West  - still angry that Ramaphosa deafeated their preferred candidate Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for the ANC presidency in December - say they will demonstrate their unhappiness with Ramaphosa by not showing up at the ABSA statdium in East London, Eastern Cape province, to hear his maiden speech.

But outgoing provincial secretary Dakota Legoete has warned that members risk facing charges for calling for and acting on the boycott.

The anti-Ramaphosa group plans to keep tight control over branch executive committees (BECs), with the aim of using them as a springboard to flood the list of potential ANC MPs ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Sunday Times has seen a WhatsApp group message accusing Ramaphosa of targeting the North West ANC for not supporting his bid for the party hotseat. They further accuse him of planning to impose pro-business policies on the ANC.

• Read the full story on the Sunday Times website