Revolt brews in ANC branches

Faced with an imminent revolt from its constituency in the crucial 2024 general election, the ANC has finally bowed to pressure to release and implement the long-awaited Motlanthe Report on manipulation of candidate lists during 2021 local government elections.

Tomorrow, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, accompanied by NEC member Dina Pule, is expected to give a report back to party structures and communities in North West and, probably later, also in the Free State and Eastern Cape, the three provinces mostly affected by electoral irregularities.

Grassroots members vowed to boycott the 2024 general election

Luthuli House was forced finally to take action after grassroots members vowed to boycott the 2024 general election if the ANC did not remove the illegal councillors.

North West, in particular, was vocal on the matter due to extensive nomination manipulations which took place in the province.

While former acting secretary-general (SG) Paul Mashatile put the parachuted councillors at 72 in number, the North West ANC provincial list committee (PLC), which did the groundwork for the Kgalema Motlanthe committee, found a whopping 155 altogether.

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Due to the manipulation of candidate lists, wrong and illegal councillors presently occupy senior positions they do not deserve.

The PLC established that, of the 155 illegally elected councillors identified by the North West PLC, eight had subsequently been irregularly promoted to become mayors, 13 as council speakers, 16 as chief whips and 53 as members of the mayoral committees in ANC-run municipalities in the province.

Only Rustenburg municipal speaker Koketso Mogomotsi had been withdrawn

A source with intimate knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity, said only alleged parachuted Rustenburg municipal speaker Koketso Mogomotsi had been withdrawn.

However, the executive mayor of the Dr Kenneth Kaunda district municipality, Nikiwe Num, remained in her position, despite her public admission that she was nominated wrongfully.

“She is still the executive mayor of the same municipality and the ANC SG insists she can’t be removed from office,” he said.

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He also alleged other parachuted mayors were Ngaka Modiri Molema district municipality’s Khumalo Molefe, Bojanala Platinum district municipality’s Matlakala Nondzaba, Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati district’s Motseokae Maje, Madibeng local municipality’s Douglas Maimane and Moretele local municipality’s George Manyike.

Parachuted councillors were politically connected individuals who were allegedly smuggled onto party lists

Parachuted councillors were politically connected individuals who were allegedly smuggled onto party lists in the run-up to the 2021 local polls without the knowledge of ANC branches and communities.

Some branches blamed then ANC interim provincial committee coordinator Hlomane Chauke for removing the legitimate candidates. Chauke later promised that the councillors would be kicked out.

Widespread protests were ignored by the party until recently, when some branches threatened to boycott next year’s general election.

Recently, a group of ANC members from ward 1 in the City of Matlosana (Klerksdorp) in North West protested, demanding the councillor candidate nominated by them be reinstated.

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One of the members, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “We will hit the ANC where it hurts the most, at the elections.” At the same time, angry members in ward 10 in Rustenburg burnt tyres and told Mbalula they would not vote.

Dissatisfied ANC members in the Bojanala region, which incorporates the Rustenburg, Madibeng and Moses Kotane municipalities, also stayed away from the 18 and 19 November voter registration exercise.

Ward 10 members led by the ANC Women’s League told Mbalula they would not vote in 2024. They also marched to the home of former United Democratic Front (UDF) stalwart Joe Mboweni and demanded the UDF contest the election.

Last weekend, Mbalula assured ANC members in Rustenburg that the parachute appointments would be axed and by-elections would follow to fill the vacancies.

Apparently, the Motlanthe committee and the PLCs found that senior party members, including Cabinet ministers, deputy ministers, MPs, MPLs, mayors, senior municipal councillors and party provincial structures were responsible for the manipulations.

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ANC attempted to sweep the matter under the carpet

But the ANC attempted to sweep the matter under the carpet.

However, the issue refused to go away as members insisted that Luthuli House should release and implement the Motlanthe report.

While fraudulently elected councillors continue to occupy cushy council seats, legitimate candidates have sat at home.

The legitimate candidates for wards 13, 18 and 22 and two proportional representation list candidates in the Madibeng region successfully obtained a high court order instructing the ANC to reinstate them.

The ANC was later found to be in contempt of court as it has so far failed to implement the court order.

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The ANC is facing what many experts believed is an imminent loss of its electoral majority.

The party is doing everything possible to correct its mistakes, including humbling itself to the electorate and dissatisfied members, but this may be a little too late.