In an interview with the Mail & Guardian, NUM general secretary David Sipunzi endorsed Cyril Ramaphosa to take over from President Jacob Zuma as ANC president in 2017, saying the former union leader has the capacity to lead the governing party and the country.
He also said exceptional reasons would be needed to justify why the long-standing tradition of the deputy succeeding the president should be broken. The NUM (National Union of Mineworkers) has moreover warned that the election of any candidate from KwaZulu-Natal to succeed Jacob Zuma as the ANC’s president in 2017 could be interpreted as tribalism. Labour federation Cosatu took a resolution at its national congress last November endorsing the ANC’s tradition that its deputy automatically becomes the leader of the party and the country when the current leader’s term comes to an end. Sipunzi sees no contradiction in backing Ramaphosa despite his close affiliation to big business.
- Read this report by Govan Whittles in full at Mail & Guardian
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page