The ANC doesn’t work on rumours, regional spokesman Sabelo Sikhakhane told 013NEWS this week.
The ANC in the Gert Sibande region has rejected claims that there was a certain lobby group aligned to one of Mpumalanga’s strongmen, Sbusiso Sgudla, that wants ANCYL regional chairman Trevor Nkosi to emerge as the party’s secretary when the region convenes its congress at the end of March 2017.
Spokesman Sabelo Sikhakhane told 013NEWS late on Monday: “In the ANC we don’t work on rumours but on facts, because rumours have an element of causing disunity in the region”.
“I can confirm to you that ANC Gert Sibande region is led by comrade Muzi Chirwa as chairperson and comrade Audrey Maleka as secretary,” he said.
Sikhakhane’s reply to questions sent earlier comes after 013NEWS was reliably told over the weekend that a powerful faction led by provincial executive committee member and resident of Msukaligwa, Sbusiso Sgudla, wants Nkosi and Mkhondo mayor Vusi Motha to emerge as secretary and chairman of the region respectively.
Regions across Mpumalanga are preparing for elective conferences in preparation for the ANC’s national elective congress in Gauteng in December this year.
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When Motha becomes the chairman of the region as allegedly planned, he will take over from Gert Sibande mayor Muzi Chirwa who was elected during a special congress a year ago after then regional chairman Vusi Shongwe was elected to be provincial treasurer at the December 2015 provincial congress. The same congress that saw Mabuza re-elected for a third term as chairman.
Chirwa was deputy chairman during the time Shongwe was regional chairman and served previously as regional secretary.
“They also want Khosi Khona who is currently the region’s treasurer to be Vusi Motha’s deputy,” the source, who is based in the Lekwa sub-region, told 013NEWS on Saturday.
He said it was all planned to “appear like that” by Sgudla but “also you need to understand that Andries Gamede and Shongwe have interests in the congress”. 013NEWS could not establish who Gamede and Shongwe want to emerge but the source said Sgudla was “the main man in all this”.
He said Chief Albert Luthuli sub-region’s Walter Mngomezulu, who is also a member of the regional executive committee in the Gert Sibande region, also has an interest in being the region’s secretary but finds himself outside of the Sgudla faction.
Sikhakhane said such “rumours” were “new to me”.
“I personally [have] never heard of such, rumours remain rumours and we don’t work on rumours in the ANC”.
He said branches in Gert Sibande’s 7 sub-regions will be allowed to pronounce their preferred leaders once audit has been completed.
“Branches should wait to hear whether they have passed audit or not,” said Sikhakhane.
(edited by ZK)
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