Why Chikane has been largely absent from the ANC’s election campaign
ANC veteran Rev Frank Chikane has hardly done any campaigning for the party in Johannesburg — where he is supposed to be one of its three mayoral candidates — because the ANC has not confirmed his candidacy in writing or given him an undertaking his name will be included in its list of prospective proportional representation (PR) councillors.
With a little more than a week to go before the November 4 local elections, Chikane — touted by many in the party as the best candidate to go toe-to-toe with the DA’s Helen Zille — has been largely a no-show.
An anonymous ANC leader asked why Chikane could not just do door-to-door campaigning as a normal member and be seen to be busy at least. It has now emerged the struggle veteran, who also served as director-general in the Presidency during Thabo Mbeki’s tenure, told the party he would first have to resign from several company boards he serves on before going all out with campaigning as its mayoral candidate, and that he could not do this without written confirmation of his candidacy from Luthuli House.
According to an ANC national executive committee member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Chikane has written to the party asking its secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, to confirm in writing that his name will be included on the party’s PR list of candidates.
The leader said Chikane cannot be out there campaigning as a mayoral candidate when he still sits on these boards, calling it a serious conflict of interest.
However, this reasoning has been questioned by other ANC leaders. One party leader asked why Chikane could not just do door-to-door campaigning as a normal member and be seen to be busy at least. The leader said Chikane is basically telling the party that if they do not confirm him as a mayoral candidate, they should not count him in the campaign.
When [the party campaigns], people [need to] know that the person who’s going to be their mayor is ethical, committed and incorruptible … Now they don’t know who that candidate will be.
So it is a mistake that was [made], and it should be rectified soon, because people don’t know who their candidate is.
ANC Johannesburg regional secretary Sasabona Manganye said it would not be entirely accurate to say Chikane had been completely absent from the party’s election campaign.