Embattled ANC continues to clean house

The ANC continues to clear house, while party structures that came into existence through the backdoor are gripped by fear because wrongdoers are on the radar screen as the ANC levels the playing fields for its renewal.

With crucial party elections coming in December, the ANC is determined to clear its name by getting rid of members who gave it a bad name. It targeted all structures that had their terms of office expired to be dissolved and to fire all councillors who cheated to get on council candidate lists during local government elections last November.

ANC sources in Buffalo City in the Eastern Cape and North West, which are both heavily affected by electoral shenanigans, said being targeted were those who faced serious criminal charges and councillors who were “parachuted” to local councils without being democratically nominated by their communities.

Buffalo City, in particular, is gripped by fear as members could lose their council seats due to alleged cheating. A provincial investigative task team is probing 83 outstanding cases after communities complained about legitimate candidates being removed from candidate lists.

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Luthuli House has begun to dissolve all provincial and regional structures with outstanding elective conferences so as to clear itself of the burden of having to account for their extended stay in office. In addition to Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga provincial executive committees (PECs) that were disbanded last week, the party has dissolved some regional executive committees (RECs) in Gauteng and some parts of the Eastern Cape.

The Dr WB Rubusana ANC REC was removed and in its place a regional task team (RTT) was appointed. The new structure was made up of members from the disbanded REC except for regional deputy chair Phumlani Mkolo and REC members Luleka Simon-Ndzelu, Phumla Yenana, Lungisa Nalena and Xolani Samana, who were excluded from the RTT.

Some of them were told to step aside following the fraud and corruption charges emanating from the alleged embezzlement of funds earmarked for Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in 2013. Running parallel to this, the ANC electoral committee headed by former president Kgalema Motlanthe is ready to implement the removal of parachuted councillors.

A total of 29 from Buffalo City alone have been identified as those who became candidates in last year’s local government elections through alleged cheating. Former regional chair Mawetu Marata and regional secretary Antonio Carels were appointed as convenor and coordinator of the RTT respectively.

A similar structure was established in Gauteng last week when the REC was disbanded after the expiry of its term of office. Political analyst Levy Ndou from Tshwane University of Technology said it would have been improper to keep the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga PECs because their terms had lapsed. He said it would be illegal for the PEC members in those provinces to continue working because their time was over.

“I think [Luthuli House was] trying to avoid a situation where [the ANC was] going to be taken to court. That is why the ANC in the Eastern Cape said they welcomed that decision because they knew it was in the interest of the party,” Ndou said.