Johannesburg - The ANC members in Ekurhuleni who marched to Luthuli House on Monday have reacted angrily to the assertion by the party’s national spokesperson, Pule Mabe, that their protest was staged.
In a statement, Mabe said the march appears to have been staged and that the group of protesters held printed posters and various other paraphernalia with messages not in keeping with the unity of the ANC.
”The ANC frowns upon any tendency or action that is designed or appears to be working against its renewal programme,” he said.
Mabe said the protesters’ printed merchandise was concerning at a time when the ANC is faced with serious financial challenges that was on its own worrying.
However, the group of ANC members in Ekurhuleni said Mabe’s utterances fall short of responding to two of their questions, including at whose expense the party’s unity must be, and whether the renewal process means they must allow regional secretary Thembinkosi Nciza to flout organisational processes.
They are calling for the immediate suspension of Nciza, who they accuse of disregarding the guidelines developed and adopted by the national executive committee for the selection of councillor candidates, and manipulating the work of the regional interview and vetting panel.
The ANC members blame Nciza for the adoption of a list of nominees that they say are not a true reflection of the nominations by branches.
The party has undertaken to conclude resolving all disputes arising from its candidate nomination process by the end of this month.
Last month, ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte assured its members that all outstanding disputes and objections would be finalised after the local government elections.
“This is one of the grievances held by the membership of the ANC in Ekurhuleni, and the call for this process to be concluded as committed to by the deputy secretary-general is in no way an illustration of ill-discipline,” the members stated.
They expressed their concern that out of all regions that have marched to Luthuli House since the beginning of the local government elections processes to complain about the way they have been handled by their respective regional secretaries, Mabe only deemed it necessary to release a statement on Ekurhuleni.
loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za
Political Bureau