MKHIZE: A SOBER INTELLECTUAL

The KwaZulu-Natal ANC chairperson is credited for his sharp intellect and loyalty
As the nominations of the preferred candidates for ANC leadership come to a halt today, ANC branches, including those of the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) prefer the ANC KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) chairperson, Zweli Mkhize, as their national treasurer.

Mkhize, who is the current premier of KZN, has been nominated by seven provinces, including KZN, for the position that is currently held by Mathews Phosa.

Phosa has been nominated for the postion of deputy president, by a faction in the ANC that seeks to replace President Jacob Zuma with his deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe.

Zuma’s home province is set to take the largest number of delegates to its national elective conference in Mangaung next month.

KZN has thrown its weight behind Zuma at its provincial nomination conference that took place two weeks ago.

The province will have 974 delegates from a total of 4 500 at the elective conference and Mkhize has already announced that 828 delegates were audited and found to be compliant. Therefore the province will be a taking full quota to Mangaung.

During his address at the KZN nomination conference, Mkhize said his province had a “special responsibility to bring depth to the content of the discussion” at the national elective conference.
He stressed that this was needed to “bring hope of optimism” to South Africans.

“Kwazulu-Natal must provide the solution that South Africa is looking for.”

The ANCWL chairperson in the Free State, Sisi Ntombela, endorsed the nomination of Mkhize as ANC treasurer.

“We think he will do well as national treasurer, because he has experience in a similar capacity at provincial level. He worked as a provincial treasurer in his province and we think he is the right man for the job.

Mkhize is well respect within the ANC for his sober leadership; sharp intellect and tireless commitment to the unity and cohesion of the ruling party. Senior ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) members have also credited Mkhize for his unwavering loyalty to the party and its leadership.

One of Mkhize’s biggest achievements recently was the leadership he provided on both the government’s approach to HIV/AIDS, under the Zuma administration, as well as the conceptualisation and implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI), which has drawn fierce criticism from the private medical sector.

As a qualified doctor who graduated from the University of Natal in 1982, Mkhize was instrumental in persuading the ANC to move away from the denial approach adopted by the government during President Thabo Mbeki’s era, to a more sympathetic approach.

He pushed for the aggressive roll-out of the anti-retroviral treatment to prevent the mother to child transmission.

During a heated debate about HIV and AIDS and the pertinent causes in 2000, Mkhize expressed empathy with the patients and sought a medical rather than a political solution to the pandemic.

“It is up to the intellectuals, scientists and researchers to create an appropriate forum to thrash out differing views and resolve their differences in an open debate, where they may even agree to disagree.

The international panel of experts that has been mooted may offer such a forum. The intention of such a forum will be to search for solutions to one of Africa’s major catastrophes,” he said.

Since then, through his gentle persuasion, strides have been made in dealing with HIV and AIDS.

These include the rolling out of the biggest anti-retroviral treatment programmes in the world, as massive education and awareness drive to educate South Africans about the disease and how to take care of themselves.

“Having practiced as a doctor before the prevalence of HIV, I have seen people suffering from malnutrition, tuberculosis and myriad combination of infections. Certainly when HIV infection came to the fore, the picture of clinical medicine drastically changed,” added Mkhize.

He recently said that the extent of political commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS under Zuma is exemplary for Africa, and the rest of the developing world.

Mkhize serves in the NEC of the ANC. He chairs the party’s national health secretariat and it is in this capacity that Mkhize pioneered NHI. On the instruction of the ANC NEC, he assembled a team of medical experts led by, Dr. Olive Sishana, to study the feasibility of the NHI.

The ANC introduced the NHI after realising that both the private and public health sectors were not able to adequately address the health challenges the country is facing. The NHI seeks to give poor South Africans access to the best health care.

Mkhize has been a vociferous defender of the NHI against an onslaught from the private healthcare sector, which he has vehemently criticised, labelling it expensive and impractical.

He has argued that it will give more South Africans, who have been excluded by the private sector, access to better health care.

On the political front, Mkhize has played an influential role in Zuma’s political life. He was his pillar of support during his rape and corruption trials. He wrote a number of articles in several newspapers, in defence of Zuma’s innocence.

He argued that the ANC president was a victim of political conspiracy and subsequently offered his personal support to the president’s family.

Ahead of Mangaung, Mkhize has been one of the leading provincial ANC chairpersons who have been calling for unity in the ANC. The other critical proponent of unity is the Free State ANC chairperson and premier, Ace Magashule.

Despite his province’s massive numbers, Mkhize has been lobbying other provinces such as Gauteng and Limpopo to develop a consensus leadership list ahead of the national elective conference.

Many senior ANC leaders are convinced that given his excellent organisational skills; deep commitment to the ANC and ability to reach out to his opponents, Mkhize is definitely the right man to form part of the ANC leadership that must unite the fractured ruling party.

There is no doubt that Mkhize is a rising star within the ruling party. His election in Mangaung will be a fitting reward for the sacrifices and contributions that he has made for the ruling party and the country as a whole.

He was appointed premier of KZN in 2009 and he still holds that position. He is also the Chancellor of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.