The branches that failed to convene BGMs will be allowed to do a re-run.
Mpumalanga’s Ngci camp is crying out at the disqualifying of the branches that were aligned to chairmanship contester Lucky Ndinisa.
The much-awaited provincial congress has now been postponed to late July after the ANC failed to reach the 70% quorum needed for the province to make the conference sit.
The province has only been able to convene 135 BGMs out of 400 branches, causing the congress to be postponed yet again to late July.
Most branches were disqualified because they failed to reach quorum and others were rejected by the new scanning system. Violent disruption has also been cited as a cause for the difficulties in convening BGMs.
Acting provincial chairman Mandla Ndlovu said branches that didn’t qualify will be given the opportunity to sit again in the next two weeks.
They need at least 280 branches to qualify to convene the congress that will elect deputy president David Mabuza’s successor in Mpumalanga.
“The policy says a branch must make three attempts, so we will definitely reach the 70% and make the conference sit. We know there are those who don’t want the conference to sit and they will be disappointed because it will sit as we will make these branches sit in the extended two weeks.
“We don’t only aim to reach the 70% but we hope to get all branches to qualify and send delegates to congress so that everyone is happy with the conference and processes,” Ndlovu said.
Contestant for the position of deputy chair on Ndinisa’s slate, David ‘Mdavu’ Nhlabathi, said the latest preliminary BGM reports – which were released by head of organising Nomvula Mokonyane last week – are riddled with “fraud”.
“We have incidents where BGMs didn’t take place but are reported in the reports as having taken place. For example ward 6 in Chief Albert Luthuli was qualified despite not reaching a quorum simply because the outcomes of the BGM favour the dominant faction.
“And other branches that were well attended were disqualified simply because they didn’t nominate them,” Mdavu said, referring to Ndlovu’s camp.
He said the system “depends on who controls it” and “we even suspect that there are national people who are working with particular groups in the province to get a particular slate elected”.
“We have other instances where they ran away with scanners but those branches were qualified, and where IDs were collected from people’s homes to make the branch qualify despite a poor attendance,” he said.
A branch secretary in the Gert Sibande region, Gracious Shabangu, said the poor results show there is a need to rebuild the ANC in Mpumalanga.
“It is very clear that we need new people who will rebuild the ANC branches and we can’t go to congress with this status quo,” Shabangu said when he spoke to 013NEWS.
Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane’s lobbyist Thabang Mathebula said the whole of eMalahleni sub-region didn’t qualify because of “thugs who were rented to disrupt all the meetings”.
“According to the roadmap to conference, we were supposed to sit the past weekend but with this report I don’t see that happening,” Mathebula said.
Five candidates are vying for the post of provincial chairperson – Ndinisa, Ndlovu, tourism deputy minister Fish Mahlalela, former deputy chair David Dube and Mtshweni-Tsipane.
(edited by MLM)
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