ANC urged to ‘save money’ and combine conferences

The ANC Youth League in the Northern Cape wants the party’s national elective and party conferences to be held in June or July, and it seems the call is gaining momentum in other provinces.

The league has called for both conferences to be held in one week. It believed this would save the party time and a lot of money. Further reasons furnished range from the possibility of the resurgence of the Covid pandemic to the protracted financial woes currently faced by the party.

Through its provincial convenor Kagiso Mokwena, the province said it was now an open book that the ANC’s finances were in shambles.

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Mokwena, who is also deputy chair for the Arshall Dyushu branch in Sol Plaatje, claimed it would be safer for the national conference to be held earlier, “when the party still had a few cents left in its coffers”.

“The ANC is now in financial melancholy. As it stands now, we are penniless and we cannot even afford to pay officials,” he said.

“If our financial coffers are dry now and the party continues failing to attract enough funders, what will happen to us 11 months later?

“Moreover, South Africa is now in lockdown level 1. According to regulations, we can hold about 2 000 people outside. But are we sure the same picture will still prevail 11 months later. We are not soothsayers, we cannot predict the future,” he said.

The request got the nod from MP and former Limpopo ANC Youth League provincial chair Boy Mamabolo.

“Combining both conferences would be a good idea and it will also minimise costs as the organisation is currently facing financial challenges,” he said.

“It will be costly to call delegates to a policy conference in June and again for elective conference in December. Rather hold policy for three days and the elective conference for two days all in one week.

“The 1991 conference also took place in July, so it will not be the first time.”

The Citizen understands all the nine provinces – leagues and mother bodies – were ordered by the ANC’s national executive committee to conclude their elective conferences in March. Mamabolo said once these were done, “we can start preparing for the national conference from April, use May and June to attend to disputes and other outstanding issues”.

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“Having it earlier will also assist us to plan properly for the 2024 general elections because next year we will be engaged in provincial list conferences to nominate new MPs and MPLs.”

The ANC has been rocked by allegations of bankruptcy, with employees threatening to bring it’s headquarters, Luthuli House, to a standstill. On Monday, workers downed tools in a push to force management to pay their salaries.

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa said some party funders had distanced themselves from the ANC because the Political Party Funding Act required them to declare their funding. The president told eNCA some funders would prefer to remain anonymous while others would not want to be named in the media.

Attempts to solicit comment from ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe have so far not been successful.