The provincial spokesman of the ANC in the Mpumalanga province has rejected suggestions their media conference was perpetuating faction within the ANC.
Mandla Ndlovu, who is the party’s secretary in the province, and spokesman Thulare Madileng, were addressing a media conference at the party’s provincial headquarters in Mbombela on Monday afternoon following comments made by the party’s chief whip in parliament, Jackson Mthembu, with the City Press newspaper, over the weekend that members of the party’s national executive committee as well as President Jacob Zuma should resign because they have failed to lead correctly and if they do not step down the party stands to lose power in 2019.
In the media briefing, both Ndlovu and Madileng slammed Mthembu for not using the proper channels when communicating the issue and said he should have raised it within the NEC than in the public, saying that Mthembu as the head of the ANC caucus in parliament was not a spokesperson of the ANC.
SEE: Mandla Ndlovu shocked at ‘unmandated’ Jackson Mthembu
Ziwaphi journalist Tom Nkosi asked the two provincial leaders why when ANCYL deputy president Desmond Moela labeled certain MECs as ‘useless’ and as ‘looters’ of state money a press briefing of this form was not called by the ANC to condemn him.
“Are you not perpetuating the factionalisation of the ANC? [Because] when certain people speak in favour of the people you like, like President Zuma, it’s nothing but when they talk against other people who are weaker in the organization [you say nothing also]. Are you not perpetuating the factionalisation of the ANC?”
Madileng answered: “I want to define factionalism to you, our media houses.
“Factionalism is when a lobbying team goes beyond congress and even beyond congress it continues to take a particular posture – a posture that supports or not support the current leadership. That’s factionalism”, said Madileng.
He said such a lobbying team before congress is not called a ‘faction’ because the constitution of the ANC allows for anybody to lobbied or lobby for so that ‘you find common ground’.
But then after an elective congress, such a group then becomes a faction “when it maintains that posture beyond congress”.
He said the issue of Moela was raised at a press briefing that was addressed by chairman David Mabuza earlier where Nkosi initially asked the same question and Mabuza answered that as the Premier of the province “he is not run by the ANCYL”.
Madileng said: “I don’t think that matter has to arise now because it was dealt with. But secondly, anybody who contravenes the constitution of the ANC will be dealt with as an individual and when that happens it is not okay that your issue be compared with other individuals”.
(edited by ZK)
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