ANC spokesman Pule Mabe speaks during a press conference at Luthuli House in Johannesburg on 28 April 2022. Picture: Miche Bega
The African National Congress (ANC) in North West is expected to conclude with its 9th provincial conference on Sunday.
The conference, previously held from 12th to 14th August, has been marred by several delays over allegations of bogus delegates and an urgent court bid to halt it from going ahead.
Ahead of nominations for the top five positions three weeks ago, North West High Court Judge Frances Maria Snyman granted Tshepo Bosman and others an interdict barring the 20 interim provincial committee (IPC) members from voting.
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Despite this, Nono Maloyi was elected as the ANC’s new provincial chairperson, beating his rival Bushi Maepa by 76 votes.
Other leaders elected at the conference included Lazzy Mokgosi, Louis Diremelo, Viola Motsumi and Sello Monotho Lehari as deputy chairperson, provincial secretary, deputy provincial secretary and provincial treasurer, respectively.
The conference reconvened in Rustenburg this weekend and is now set to conclude following the nominations of additional members to the party’s provincial executive committee (PEC) on Saturday.
Voting of the PEC members continued until early Sunday morning with the results expected to be announced later in the day.
This comes after the North West High Court in Mahikeng on Thursday dismissed with costs a second interdict application of the disgruntled ANC members who were seeking to declare the provincial conference unlawful.
The members were challenging the results of the provincial conference and have now approached the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) to have the outcome declared null and void.
The applicants further want an interim team to be appointed to run the provincial structures “pending the election of a lawfully constituted provincial executive committee of the ANC in the North West.”
Addressing the media on Saturday, ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said the new provincial leadership he was not fazed by the latest litigation, saying they were confident the outcome will favour them.
“We are still convinced that even another court or the Constitutional Court will still make the same [ruling] by the Mahikeng High Court,” he said.
Mabe, however, also called on members to try and resolve their grievances internally.
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“We have dealt with all of the issues. We are quite aware that there are still issues here and there being raised by some in our membership and we will be reaching out to them. We are not going to expel anyone because they took the ANC to court they were exercising their own democratic right.
“[But] our appeal to them is that they must accept the rulings of the courts [and] come back to work with the leadership to be able to restore the credible of the ANC and return the North West to its former glory.
“For the past four years, this province has not has leadership,” he said.
Meanwhile, ANC North West convenor Obed Bapela warned delegates about factionalism with the provincial party.
“Come 2024, we can’t go into that period with a divided North West that does not have an elected leadership and that is why this conference is the landmark for you that from four years of not having leadership you’ll finally have a leadership,” he said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will not close the conference as he is out of the country to attend the funeral of former Angola president José Eduardo dos Santos.
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