The term of office for the ANC provincial eExecutive committee in the Northern Cape, led by provincial chairperson and Premier Dr Zamani Saul, ends in May next year. The party plans to hold its provincial conference a month earlier. File picture: Danie van der Lith
THE ANC in the Northern Cape will be the first province to hold its conference in April next year, ahead of the party’s crucial national general council (NGC) later in the year and the 2027 national conference. The latter is expected to elect a successor to President Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC leader.
However, the ANC Northern Cape provincial chairperson, Dr Zamani Saul, has dismissed any premature leadership lobbying, urging discipline and focus ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
Speaking at the ANC Youth League’s (ANCYL) provincial conference in Kuruman this week, Saul cautioned prospective candidates against campaigning recklessly in the Province or engaging in premature leadership discussions.
According to Saul, structures in the Province will not engage in speculative debates on who should lead the ANC in 2027.
“We will wait for the national executive committee (NEC) to declare that lower structures can engage on this matter,” he told the ANCYL gathering, which elected the Province’s Finance, Economic Development and Tourism MEC, Venus Blennies-Magage, as provincial chairperson and Phumla Mbobi as provincial secretary.
Saul emphasised the Province's focus on rebuilding the ANC and strengthening its structures.
However, he briefly reiterated the Province’s support for a proposal to introduce two deputy president positions at the 2027 national conference.
According to Saul, the second deputy president role would primarily address international relations, a move he described as crucial given the increasing importance of geopolitics.
This proposal, first tabled at the 2017 national conference, was discussed alongside the successful suggestion to appoint two deputy secretaries-general, which was initially rejected but later adopted at the 2022 conference.
PREPARATIONS UNDER WAY FOR PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE
The Northern Cape had the smallest delegation at the 2022 National Conference, with only 239 representatives.
The province is now moving ahead with preparations for its next provincial conference, scheduled to take place in the Frances Baard region in April. This region includes Kimberley, Hartswater, Barkly West, and Warrenton. The term of the current provincial executive committee will conclude in May 2025.
ANC provincial secretary Deshi Ngxanga has instructed regional structures to submit their roadmaps for conferences by this Saturday.
LEADERSHIP DISCUSSIONS UNDER SCRUTINY
The ANC’s NGC, scheduled for mid-2025, will serve as a midterm review ahead of the 2027 national conference.
Last month, the ANC NEC issued a directive prohibiting public discussions about leadership for the 2027 conference. The party stated that premature debates destabilise structures and detract from its focus on implementing resolutions from the previous national conference.
The NEC also resolved to create a guiding framework for leadership discussions at all levels. This framework, once finalised, will regulate processes at branch, regional, provincial, and national levels.
It warned that no member should engage in leadership contestation, lobbying or self-promotion in the name of the ANC for any position in the run-up to the 2027 national conference, except within the period to be determined and announced by secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.
“Any member violating this directive by engaging in unauthorised leadership contestation will face disciplinary action as such behaviour detracts from the critical work of implementing national conference resolutions and our electoral manifesto,” the party warned
It added that it refused to be drawn into premature leadership discussions as it seeks to maintain focus on implementing its electoral mandate and address setbacks from the May 2024 national and provincial elections.