SA needs a leader who will be able to cure the country’s ills

The election of the leader of the African National Congress (ANC) is not only about individual interests; that is, it is not only about the interests of the individuals who want to ascend to the throne. I am certain that it is almost always about either the ascendance of those that are outside the centres of power or the consolidation of the interests of those who want to hold on to power. To the extent that some of the interests are regional, it is in the interests of the KwaZulu-Natal province of the ANC for the presidency of the party to remain in that province. This must happen for the simple reason that leadership battles are partly about ensuring that patronage networks remain in the province that won the leadership battle at the previous elective conference. In other words, the KwaZulu-Natal province of the ANC must make sure that the patronage networks do not relocate to another province.