Durban – ANC regional leaders in KwaZulu-Natal said they had been taken by surprise when the party’s electoral committee chair, Kgalema Motlanthe, warned political structures against making pronouncements on their preferred leadership ahead of the national elective conference.
Motlanthe, in a letter to Luthuli House which The Mercury has seen, warned that disciplinary action would be taken against those who continued to flout the rules and guidelines he and his team had formulated.
At least five ANC provincial executive committees (Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, and Gauteng) had backed President Cyril Ramaphosa, while two regional structures had made public their preferred candidates for various positions.
“The electoral committee is extremely disappointed and concerned about the recent pronouncements by certain provincial and regional structures regarding their preferred candidates for certain NEC (national executive committee) positions to be elected at the 55th national conference to be held in December,” Motlanthe said.
He then asked the party’s acting secretary-general Paul Mashatile, to issue a directive requesting all party structures to desist from making premature pronouncements on their preferred candidates. He said the guidelines ahead of the conference made it clear that provincial structures could make pronouncements only after the consolidation of all branch nominations.
“The announcements by some provincial and regional structures on who they (would) prefer to be nominated at the 55th national conference are non-compliant with the rules and spirit of the ANC constitution, which empowers the branches of the ANC to act independently and without fear or favour when electing leaders at various levels of the organisation.”
However, KZN party leaders said the timing of the announcement had come as a surprise, as provincial executive committees had for months openly expressed their preference for Ramaphosa without comment from the electoral committee.
In KZN, the eThekwini regional executive committee last week said it would endorse former health minister Zweli Mkhize for president, and ANC treasurer Paul Mashatile for deputy president.
Regional executive committee spokesperson Mondli Mkhize yesterday said it would be unfair for the NEC to invite branches to participate in a process and then, when they commented on it, take disciplinary action against them.
“Motlanthe, as a former secretary-general and former deputy president of the ANC, and former president of the country, should know that branches are invited by the NEC to comment on the process, and it is unfair to take disciplinary action (against them). It can’t be at fault when providing an answer when a question has been asked.”
Mkhize said they stood by the announcement backing Zweli Mkhize and Mashatile.
“But we would want to know what we have done to violate the code of conduct of the ANC,” Mkhize said.
Bheka Dlamini, deputy chairperson of the General Gizenga Mpanza region, said provinces had openly announced their preferences but, now that branches were saying something different, the threat of misconduct was looming.
“The guidelines are clear that (it is) only after the consolidation of all branch nominations (that) the provincial structures can make pronouncements. But some provinces made these pronouncements two months ago, and it was not dealt with.
“We are worried because people should have been called to order by the chairperson of the electoral committee a long time ago, and (this) should have been communicated to branches, regions and provinces. When implementing the guidelines, it must be done in a manner of fairness and consistency, and not in a way to intimidate branch delegates, as they decide which candidates they are going to choose.”
THE MERCURY
