ANC Flag. Picture: Michel Bega
Luthuli House’s centre that “no longer holds” must take the blame for the worsening political environment in the Free State ANC, where jostling for top positions is threatening the province’s stability.
University of the Free State-based political analyst Prof Sethulego Matebesi said the ANC failed to intervene to stop the chaos that had beset the party.
He said the province had never seen unity since 2012 under former premier Ace Magashule and it worsened when he left to head Luthuli House party headquarters as secretary-general as jostling to replace him ensued.
Matebesi said there was continuous disintegration of the party in the province.
“It can only be rhetoric that the ANC members were united. They have mastered the art of conniving against each other and the sad thing is the whole situation has a bearing on the citizens because service delivery is not happening in the process.”
Presently, at least four slates were out with different leaders contesting for the influential position of provincial chair.
At the weekend, the influential Mangaung ANC region held two elective conferences as members disagreed about the processing leading to the provincial conference, scheduled for Friday.
Some members blamed the interim regional committee (IRC) in Mangaung of working behind their backs and isolating them from participating in meetings in favour of their supporters.
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The situation was even worse at provincial level, where interim provincial committee convener Mxolisi Dukwana was being opposed by his former ally, Thabo Manyoni, for the position of chair.
The situation was so chaotic the province was divided between those behind Dukwana and the backers of Manyoni. Both initially supported Ramaphosa but Manyoni, a former deputy to Magashule before he became secretary-general, had been organising against Dukwana and vice versa. Manyoni was allegedly backed by Magashule’s supporters.
Others vying for the same position are Free State premier Sisi Ntombela and education MEC Tata Makgoe, who announced his candidacy only last week.
Matebesi blamed the province’s citizens for letting the problem continue. “The citizens are getting what they deserve because they have been elevating and promoting incompetency in the government.
“I don’t think that people understand that they have a democratic power at their disposal to stop this chaos,” he said.
There were ANC members hoping to benefit from the situation. Some changed factions to put feelers to check where the balance of forces favoured them. “It is likely that there had been leaders who sat on the fence to see where the wind is blowing,” he said.
The expert said from his observation, the wind was blowing in Ramaphosa’s favour in the Free State.
The main faction that held a meeting at Mvelo Lodge in Bloemfontein supported the president.
But there was doubt whether Friday’s provincial conference would succeed due to the ongoing infighting. This may affect Free State’s attendance at the national conference in mid-December.
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– ericn@citizen.co.za
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