The ANC headquarters, Luthuli House in Joburg. Picture: Timothy Bernard/African News Agency (ANA)
Pretoria - Days after disgruntled members warned that the North West ANC conference would be disastrous if provincial leaders fail to resolve numerous disputes, it was cancelled yesterday.
This followed a threat by Dr KK Kaunda region members who marched to the ANC headquarters, Luthuli House in Joburg, to demand the top leadership intervene and resolve their disputes. The region comprises areas like Klerksdorp, Potchefstroom and neighbouring towns.
ANC members allege that their regional leadership under Tshepo Belebese was instrumental in the manipulation of delegate selection processes before the provincial conference, due to be held next week in Rustenburg.
Initially, another ANC grouping linked to former ANC provincial chairperson, Supra Mahumapelo, was expected to march to Luthuli House alongside other radical economic transformation (RET) groups, but that did not materialise.
The RET groupings were expected to demand ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa step down as president following allegations of tax evasion and money laundering against him.
Mahumapelo’s supporters apparently also wanted to urge the ANC top leadership to address their disputes – but none of the RET members came close to the governing party’s head office.
Instead, those supporting incumbent North West Premier Bushy Maape to be the next ANC provincial chairperson, marched to Luthuli House, complaining about vote rigging and the manipulation of internal processes.
One of the alleged victims, Gabriel Mqikela, showed Independent Media an urgent letter of appeal to the ANC’s national dispute resolution asking it to intervene. In his letter, Mqikela said his branch never sat for a single meeting to elect delegates to the provincial conference. But when he lodged a dispute, his complaint was dismissed by provincial dispute resolution committee (PDRC) chairperson Sello Lehari.
Lehari is also contesting for one the top five positions under a slate led by Nono Maloyi. Last year, former ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe warned the ANC against appointing people with political ambitions to serve in ANC electoral dispute resolution bodies.
But it appears that in the North West such a warning fell on deaf ears. Lehari’s faction has Maloyi as a provincial chairperson candidate. Maloyi also sits on the North West ANC dispute resolution committee.
Now, Maape supporters are accusing the dispute resolution committee of dismissing their complaints, so as to allow their slate to win the conference. “This same thing happened ahead of the November local government elections. These people elected their own members to be councillors-elect for the ANC. We lodged disputes and these are yet to be resolved..”
But Belebese, regional chair of Dr KK Kaunda region, dismissed the allegations against him and his executive committee. He said the PDRC has yet to table the outcomes of the disputes before the interim provincial committee led by Hlomani Chauke.
Six candidates are vying for the position of provincial ANC chairperson.
They include Mahumapelo, Maape, Maloyi, Chauke, provincial task team member Motlalepula Rosho, and MEC for Economic Development Kenetswe Mosenogi.
Pretoria News