DURBAN - AmaZulu Football Club owner and prominent businessman Sandile Zungu has pulled out of the ANC chairperson race in KwaZulu-Natal.
Zungu, who flew out of the country with his club for the CAF cup competition on Wednesday, had issued a statement saying that after careful consideration he had decided not to contest any ANC leadership position in the province.
“Pursuant to extensive consultations and after careful consideration, I have resolved that I am neither going to contest nor campaign for any leadership position in the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal.
“First and foremost, I thank the comrades who approached me to make myself available for leadership of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal as well as the exploratory committee that managed my consultation process. I remain humbled by the support and confidence they demonstrated in me.”
He thanked present and past leaders, AmaZulu FC Supporters Committee, Zungu Investments Company, members of the clergy, traditional and business leaders as well as friends whom he had consulted and whose wise counsel ultimately had guided him towards his decision. He further thanked his family for their unconditional love and support.
Zungu’s name has been circulating among politicians for quite some time. He was said to have accepted to be nominated for the position of chairperson but was not clear which slate he belonged to in the party.
Sources within the ANC in the province said there were regions which neither wanted the current provincial chairperson nor current provincial treasurer, Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
They were looking at Zungu as an option.
In the slates that are currently doing the rounds on social networks, Premier Sihle Zikalala and Dube-Ncube are being touted for the position of chairperson.
Another source said there were youth league structures that had already pledged their support to Zungu.
An eThekwini ANC senior leader who asked not to be named said Zungu was too ambitious if he thought he would win without having passed through the provincial executive committee stage.
The ANC provincial spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela confirmed that Zungu was a member of the party branch in uMlazi but was not sure whether he had renewed his membership because he had relocated to Johannesburg.
Daily News