Succession debate hots up
2005-02-13 11:29
Johannesburg - The debate over who will follow in President Thabo Mbeki's footsteps is on the boil in South Africa, with two groups within his governing party involved in an ugly spat over the succession.
The gloves have come off within the African National Congress (ANC) as it considers candidates for arguably the most powerful presidency on the continent, after Mbeki ends his term in office in 2009.
The ANC's outspoken Youth League (ANCYL) president Fikile Mbalula last week called the Women's League a bunch of "holy cows" when they failed to endorse a candidate after a national meeting.
The ANCYL has thrown its weight behind Mbeki's obvious successor, deputy president Jacob Zuma, who also commands considerable support among the party's grassroot voters.
But Zuma's fortunes seem to be intricately linked to a major corruption case against his financial adviser Schabir Shaik, in which the deputy president has been implicated but not charged.
"There is a layer within the ANC that is concerned that one should not just be a good politician to become president, but also like Mbeki, Mandela and the struggle leaders before them, be untainted by scandal and corruption," said analyst Adam Habib of the Pretoria-based Human Sciences Research Council.
Although local papers and analysts still name Zuma as Mbeki's likely successor in four years from now, they say the Shaik court case could see him fall by the wayside.
There are some rising stars within the party wings, waiting to stake their claims on the presidency.
Lekota
Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota's name is starting to hit newsprint here, with political commentator Xolela Mangcu saying he "comes to mind as a possible successor to Mbeki".
"(Lekota) combines both the reconciliatory racial politics of the Mandela era and would be acutely alive to Mbeki's Africanist agenda," Mangcu said in a recent opinion piece in the Business Day newspaper.
Lekota, who was active in apartheid South Africa as an internal organiser, will be the first non-Xhosa speaking president "thereby fostering a sense of non-ethnic politics that has always been the pride" of the ANC, Mangcu said.
Another hot name being bandied about is that of former trade unionist-turned businessman, Cyril Ramaphosa, who carries the aura of having been Mandela's choice to succeed him.
But Ramaphosa retired from politics in 1996 to concentrate on business and he has repeatedly denied reports of a come-back even though he enjoys immense grassroots support.
Other names being mentioned are Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma - for now the only woman cited as a possible contender - ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe and influential government strategist Joel Netshitenzhe.