Nwabisa Makunga:Duba backers can scupper Jordaan ambitions

ONE Saturday evening in October, a colleague and I sat at the SABC tent, on the beautifully manicured lawns of the Gallagher Estate in Midrand. A friend lent us the space for a few minutes so we could chat to Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Danny Jordaan, away from the noise at the nearby media centre where all journalists were stationed, while covering the ANC’s national general council (NGC). For a man who was up early that morning, attended the conference, flew back to Port Elizabeth, drove to Grahamstown to the Safa awards and flew back to the NGC, Jordaan was energetic and in an unusually chirpy mood. He got up to help himself to the broadcasting crew’s tea and biscuits as he went on and on telling us how determined he was to make Mandela Bay a safe city. So in the middle of that Chuck Norris vibe, I jumped right in: “So Mayor, Mr X (Mike Xego) is convinced that you want to stand as regional chairman of the ANC. “Is he right? Do you want to be ANC chair?” He took a big gulp of his cold tea, laughed and gave us some political gibberish that was neither here nor there. That he did not categorically say “no” meant, at least to me, that Mr X was right. As Jordaan carried on in detail how many motorbikes and high-powered machines the metro had, how our arsenal was strong enough to take on these criminals, (you know men and war talk), my mind drifted. I wondered if he in fact was ready for the bruising political bun-fight that awaited him should he finally contest the regional leadership. Granted, Jordaan is no political rookie. He has earned his stripes and let’s face it, you don’t get to be the head honcho of South African football without knowing a thing or two about running a tight campaign.

The politics of Mandela Bay however are a different ball game. Getting the nod from Luthuli House to become mayoral candidate – which is highly likely to happen – is one thing. But convincing very divided branches of the ANC to place you in charge of Florence Matomela House is quite another. As things appear for now, branches are split three ways: one group supports Jordaan, another backs Andile Lungisa, while others are fully behind Tony Duba. I am inclined to believe that Jordaan faces a lesser challenge in Lungisa than he does in Duba. You see, the crew behind Duba is an interesting bunch. Apart from MP Cedrick Frolick, this group is mostly made up of men and women who for years ran the local ANC – albeit to the ground – until they were removed from power by President Jacob Zuma last December. They engineered the coming and going of mayors and despite what they tell you, they masterminded every significant decision in this municipality. In the last six months, Jordaan has effectively dismantled much of their stronghold in the corridors of city hall. They are angry with him. They want that power back. Their network is formidable. And they know how to run a killer campaign. Regardless of what he thinks of them, if Jordaan underestimates their crusade, he does so at his own peril.