Cape Town – Recently appointed secretary-general of the MK party Floyd Shivambu has defended the decision to avoid an elective conference, confirming that former president Jacob Zuma will retain leadership.
Critics have questioned the party’s democratic integrity, as it allows Zuma full authority to appoint leaders at all levels without elections.
Shivambu, initially joining as a national organiser, was promoted to secretary-general on Sunday.
In an interview with SABC News, he affirmed that the MK party will operate under Zuma’s guidance to avoid factionalism and financial influence.
He said that elective conferences could be reconsidered once the party is established in all voting districts, regions, and provinces across South Africa.
“If you want to base that organisation on elective conferences, you are going to make it vulnerable and accessible to factional politics.
“But also the influence of money that is going to come from wrong sources to influence its direction and even capture it for wrong purposes.”
“We are not thinking about the departure of president Zuma because he’s not about to depart now. He is still strong; he is giving us political guidance,” Shivambu said.
Zuma himself also said in September that his party will not hold a national elective conference to elect new leaders, citing concerns over potential sabotage by spies linked to the ANC.
Zuma said that the current leadership was strong and that a conference could weaken the party.
He said that the decision not to hold a conference wasa strategic choice to prevent destabilisation, IOL reported.
“There are things that we have deliberately done as uMkhonto (MKP), like the issue of holding an elective conference. Our enemies are very smart – we will call the conference, and they will raise funds to support their candidates and destabilize our organisation, so we will not have a conference.
“I once asked other comrades why is the conference important? Scientifically speaking, what is the importance of having an elective conference? Why must we elect a new person after a few years even though the current person is still a good leader, I do not think having a conference is a good idea,” the report quoted Zuma as saying at the time.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
