
He said having a PGC in the Mpumalanga province is not a “personal but a constitutional matter”.
Mpumalanga ANC contender Peter Nyoni has told 013NEWS that next week he is going to Luthuli House to ‘demand’ that the provincial general council in the province must be allowed to sit and elect ANC deputy president DD Mabuza’s successor.
He said there was “currently lobbying” by Luthuli House for Mpumalanga not to have the PGC – that instead they must concentrate on the general elections that President Cyril Ramaphosa allegedly wants to be held earlier than next year.
Nyoni said they will demand that the PGC sits “as a programme that the ANC said would happen”.
“As ANC we must demand the PGC,” Nyoni said over the phone.
“That is not a personal but its a constitutional matter,” he says.
“The constitution says if there are vacancies declared they must be filled. So next week we are going to speak to the national leadership about the issue. There has to be the PGC in the province,” he said.
Nyoni is contesting for the position of Mpumalanga ANC chairperson left by Mabuza when he got elected deputy president on 18 December 2017.
His slate has Sarel Mtsweni who wants to be the deputy chair – a position left by Violet Siwela who became an NEC member during the Nasrec national conference.
READ: Sarel Mtsweni announces political comeback as Peter Nyonis deputy
Provincial secretary Mandla Ndlovu also wants to be the chair – with Speedy Mashilo as the deputy chair and Pat Ngomane as the secretary.
“We can’t agree to them postponing the PGC because that was a programme that was agreed would happen. We must speak to our organisation and say, ‘no, this one is wrong, we want the PGC’,” Nyoni said.
A week ago, Ndlovu told the Mail & Guardian that his province is hard at work preparing for the PGC.
“We are still finalising the membership audit. From 1 May [2018] the branches will start to convene BGMs to nominate a provincial chairperson,” Ndlovu said.
(edited by MLM)
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