Msunduzi Municipality mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla. Picture - Gallo
The future of the ANC Moses Mabhida region’s top brass, led by Msunduzi Mayor Mzi Thebolla, is in the balance amid moves to unseat them.
Opponents of Thebolla and other ANC regional leaders elected during the December 2021 regional conference are pushing for the nullification of the conference’s outcomes, saying the gathering was irregular.
In a letter to the ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial leadership, seen by The Witness, ANC members opposed to the party’s regional leadership call for the removal of Thebolla — who is currently the party’s regional chairperson — and the entire ANC regional executive committee (REC).
Through their lawyers, Ntanzi Attorneys, the disgruntled ANC members, who also brought the matter to the attention of ANC acting secretary-general Paul Mashatile, allege that ineligible party members were allowed to participate in the regional conference.
The branches that had unresolved disputes participated in the regional elective conference.
It is clear that based on the allegations that have been raised by our client, the current REC had assumed its office through unlawful means and therefore our clients are asking for the current PEC [provincial executive committee] to intervene urgently and resolve issues of [the] leadership crisis that is facing the Moses Mabhida Region.
The ANC Moses Mabhida Region leadership crisis has hampered service delivery in the region.
The ANC members initially wrote to both the party’s provincial and national leadership structures in January.
In their latest letter, they say they are yet to receive a response despite having sent their complaints more than six months ago.
While former ANC provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli, who vacated his position last month following the party’s provincial conference, did respond, the disgruntled ANC members claimed that his response was “unsatisfactory”.
Our clients still maintain that the RTT [regional task team] that presided over the BGMs [branch general meetings] has acted unlawfully in many respects, in that the branch general meetings were manipulated and the majority of the members in good standing from the branches were excluded.
During the build-up to last month’s ANC provincial conference, the current regional leadership was part of ANC structures supporting then ANC provincial chairperson and then premier, Sihle Zikalala.
The fact that Zikalala was defeated at the provincial conference means that the ANC Moses Mabhida REC has become vulnerable.
Two weeks ago, the newly-elected ANC provincial leadership recalled the MEC for Education, Kwazi Mshengu. Mshengu had been instrumental in drumming up support for Zikalala in the region during the build-up to the provincial conference.
The REC wanted Mshengu to be elected as the next ANC provincial deputy chairperson at the KZN conference. However, Mshengu, who hails from the ANC Moses Mabhida region, was defeated by the current Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane.
ANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo said he was yet to receive the letter from the region’s disgruntled members.
Maybe it’s still on its way. If it comes, we will deal with it accordingly.
An ANC Moses Mabhida REC member, who did not want to be named as he did not have the authority to comment on party matters, said it was unlikely that the PEC would support calls for the dissolution of the REC.
It should be remembered that the REC participated in the provincial conference where members of the current PEC were elected.
So, if the REC is illegitimate, the implication is that the provincial conference which elected the current PEC was also illegitimate.
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