The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and its affiliates were to blame for “spoiling the water” by jumping the gun on the succession battle in the African National Congress (ANC).

And‚ while describing it as “ill-timed”‚ the ANC Women’s League’s pronouncement on Saturday that it would back Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to take over the presidency of the party‚ Gwede Mantashe said it was merely an angry reaction to structures outside the party announcing their preferred candidates.

The league’s announcement was made on the eve of the ANC’s 105th birthday celebration at Orlando Stadium on Sunday.

It described Dlamini-Zuma as “an embodiment of leadership as espoused by ‘Through the Eye of the Needle’ ”‚ a ley ANC’s strategy and tactics document.

“When people do things that are out of order‚ they create a floodgate. Cosatu and a number of its affiliates pronounced on Ramapahosa and that triggered a lot of anger within the ANC‚” Mantashe‚ the ANC’s secretary-general‚ told Radio 702 on Monday morning.

In November‚ the union federation’s central executive committee announced that it was backing deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa to take over at the ANC.

“And I think that the Women’s League is one such reaction — that there are others that are allowed to pronounce and not us.

“And it’s actually an ill-timed reaction.

“But it is a reaction to structures that are outside of the ANC‚ making their pronouncement‚ spoiling the water in the ANC‚ and that is what we are seeing.

“But‚ I think it is more important for us to respect each other; one as allies and‚ then as structures.

“With Cosatu and it affiliates having pronounced‚ we are going to have to actually battle to suppress provinces to say‚ ‘Please‚ hold on‚ and lets’ engage on the way forward’.” – TMG Digital