The factions believe the leadership has been made “incapable” of dealing with any challenge on site.
A new call is being made to the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) to have the Mpumalanga PEC dissolved and a provincial task team (PTT) formed in its stead.
The factions believe a task team will be “inclusive” and will also be able to address matters of factionalism, gate-keeping and then enable comrades to fight the challenges that poor people in the province are faced with.
Mpumalanga will have an elective conference in December 2019, where branches will gather and elect DD Mabuza’s successor. But moving towards December the leaders still need to do the processes of renewing branches and then the audits, a process that the forces opposed to the ruling one say cannot be done by the current “factional” PEC.
One of the contestants, Charles Makola, the past weekend after their meeting in Ermelo told 013NEWS that they are pinning their hopes on the NEC.
He said it was the “competence” of the NEC to intervene in the provinces – to enable Mpumalanga to address the issue of the “dysfunctional” branches and regional leaderships.
Their meeting in Ermelo on Saturday 13 Jul 2019 was called a ‘Cadres Assembly” and listed as speakers other contestants like Fish Mahlalela, Peter Nyoni, David Dube and Jacks Modipane – and was a meeting aimed at “conscientising the cadres to unite and begin to confront the challenges that are facing the province”. Also Cosatu and SANCO comrades attended the gathering at the Ermelo Inn.
“So the whole purpose is to make sure that we are together and are all able to fight the ills that are affecting our people and the organisation in the province,” said Makola over the phone.
He said this cannot be realised under the current PEC which acts “to divide the province than to unite”.
“Their behaviour or action is rather a factional action. Even how the regions communicate with branches it is absolutely out of line with ANC culture, completely. It’s something that serves the immediate needs of a certain dominant grouping and not the loyal voters and communities in general,” said Makola, adding the NEC will have to intervene like it did in 1999 when the province was “highly divided”.
The intervention was made by then President Thabo Mbeki and saw Ndaweni Mahlangu handpicked as the Premier of Mpumalanga in April 1999, with Mathews Phosa removed from this post and also instructed Phosa and his deputy January Masilela not to contest at an upcoming ANC congress, giving Mahlangu the edge to be elected chairperson 6 months later unopposed.
Makola said while leaders like Mahlalela and Dube apologised for not being able to come to the Ermelo meeting on Saturday but those who attended did make “reaffirmation on various issues”.
“We just want the NEC to intervene and assist in renewing the ANC in the province. A PTT will have to include all the groupings and make sure they are together and they work towards attaining the goals of the movement in the face of rising unemployment,” he said.
More cadre assemblies are still to be convened to continue “conscientising comrades” and then the NEC is approached about the problem.
This is the second time a call for the PEC to fall is made. A court case brought by the factions was dismissed early this year by the Mbombela High Court.
The factions led by Nyoni were arguing in court that an NEC resolution from 2015 instructing the then PEC to align the two regions of Bohlabela and eHlanzeni into one in line with government demarcation was not followed. Therefore, the Mpumalanga delegates that elected the 54th ANC national leadership were “bogus”.
But the judge dismissed the application, saying it had the likelihood of causing turmoil in the country as will result in the collapse of the elected ANC leadership and the government.
(edited by ZK)
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