Using the step-aside resolution as a tool against political adversaries is compromising the ANC’s renewal project, says KZN chairperson hopeful Sandile Zungu.
He said the rule is likely to suffer the same fate as the crime-busting Scorpions if it is not reviewed urgently.
After announcing he is standing for ANC KZN chair, Zungu said he has been engaging with party members across the province and the same sentiment is felt on the ground.
“In talking to regions, we have picked up an overwhelming sense of discomfort with how [the step-aside resolution] is being implemented. There is an overwhelming view that it is becoming a factional instrument to deal with those on the wrong side of the equation.
“It is sadly going to suffer the same fate the Scorpions suffered post-2017. For me, the die is cast on that resolution simply because it is used incorrectly as a factional instrument.”
Zungu is advocating for a review of the rule.
“There is a need for the ANC, as part of its renewal, to operate in a manner that restores the confidence of ordinary people in the organisation as the leader of society.
“If we emerge it will be solidified for a step-aside resolution to be looked at ... in a manner that allows for equity and justice to be seen as it is implemented. It is an overwhelming view in KZN that the resolution should be put to a test,” he said.
Asked about his association with corruption-accused former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, the entrepreneur from Umlazi, south of Durban, said public opinion was different to that of party members. Gumede stepped aside after being re-elected to lead the region.
“All we know is that she is going through a legal process whose outcome ... cannot be predicted by ourselves ... That she is chairperson of the ANC in eThekwini talks volumes about the proximity of her to the members of the ANC in eThekwini.
“I know comrade Zandile at a personal level, as much as I know other comrades who have been to trial and back, found guilty or not guilty. What I found with her is that she oozes a lot of personal warmth. That’s what makes her appealing. Often people are called comrade, but she is called mama,” said Zungu.
He emphasised that ANC members’ impressions of their leaders were different from the media’s portrayal of them.
He said he has no intention of using political office to further his business interests and his role, if elected, will not be compromised by his business tasks.
“I can assure everyone if I am elected chairperson of the ANC, I will draw a line between the two. I understand you are not elected to office so you can do things to your favour. It is not going to happen.
“We will find a way to deal with any contradictions in a manner that is beyond reproach and can be subjected to scrutiny ... I understand exactly what the implications are for my choosing to explore entering the political space.”
Zungu also believes the KZN ANC, due to its size and contribution to the party nationally, should be represented in the national top six by two leaders.
He added the province had not yet identified anyone to champion at the national conference in December.
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