Would-be ANC EC chair Mlibo Qoboshiyane cites disunity as reason for leadership challenge

31 January 2022 - 06:00
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Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane File photo.
Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane File photo.
Image: MICHAEL PINYANA

Eastern Cape deputy legislature speaker Mlibo Qoboshiyane believes that the party — under the leadership of Oscar Mabuyane — has failed to build unity and cohesion in the province.

Qoboshiyane was speaking to TimesLIVE on Friday about his intention to contest for the position of provincial chairperson in March when his party goes to congress.

Mabuyane, who is also the premier in the province, is again contesting for the position, but he has been facing a strong competition from his former ally Babalo Madikizela, the current provincial treasurer.

“There are areas of success I can mention but when it comes to organisational cohesion and unity, I think the collective that we have, has failed there. The second thing, if I am speaking about leading functional structures on the ground, building stronger or investing more time guiding the processes of local government, I think we have seen a lot more problems,” said Qoboshiyane.

He has presented himself as the third option, together with a grouping that involves current education MEC Fundile Gade as his deputy chairperson, and former provincial ANC Youth League chairperson Ayanda Matiti as secretary.

He confirmed that the current Nelson Mandela Bay chairperson, Babalwa Lobishe, and MEC for roads and transport, Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe, were part of the same slate — currently seen as a “third way” in the provincial contest.

But Qoboshiyane ruled out a total takeover post conference that would see Mabuyane kicked out as a premier. 

Qoboshiyane's name first came up late last year after the contest for the provincial leadership was mainly about Mabuyane and his then ally, the current provincial treasurer Madikizela.

Madikizela is seen as the strongest candidate to replace Mabuyane after several regions declared their support for him in the run-up to the conference to be held in March.

Qoboshiyane told TimesLIVE he accepted the challenge to run for provincial chairperson after some branches in the party approached him about it.

“Their mindset was that, can't we have a plurality of leadership where comrades can have an opportunity to diverse more than to live with the current arrangement because comrades now are just contesting each other but they were together in 2017,” said Qoboshiyane.

He said the ANC had been weakened on the ground in the province and there was no political education to help take them forward.

“We need to avoid totally accidental leadership as we saw in 2017, flying of chairs, the rupture that erupted there because of the absence of [diversity] and maturity,” said Qoboshiyane.

He said the ANC in the province had gradually become absent and was not engaging social structures, including academia, business and traditional leaders. 

Qoboshiyane, in 2017, had led a group supporting the then Eastern Cape premier Phumulo Masualle to march out of the provincial conference that ultimately elected Mabuyane after violence broke out, with ANC members throwing chairs at each other.

But he maintains he is not contesting the provincial chairmanship out of bitterness from that time. His grouping, which is now referred to as the RET forces, also supported the presidency of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma against Cyril Ramaphosa.

He would not be drawn to speak about who he would support for the ANC presidency later this year.

Though critical of the leadership led by Mabuyane, Qoboshiyane recently met with him in a much publicised meeting on social media. He told the Sunday Times the meeting was to show ANC members there was no anger between the two.

He said he would meet Madikizela to discuss what his grouping was offering the province.

TimesLIVE


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