ANC-supporters want constitution to be upheld

Members of the different ANC branches in the Lekwa sub-region protested in front of the ruling party’s office on Thursday, 30 May, voicing disapproval with certain members of their party.

According to the convener, Mr Michael Ngcongo, the protest stems from ANC members who voted with the DA last year when the future of the mayor and speaker was at stake.

“They violated the ANC constitution,” Mr Ngcongo said.

A copy of a memorandum cited section 25.17 of the ANC’s rule book and is in possession of the Standerton Advertiser.

When turning back the pages of time, Mr Linda Dhlamini and Ms Harriet Khota survived a motion of ‘no confidence’ on 20 November after the meeting was cancelled amid safety concerns for councillors.

The DA submitted the motion against Mr Dhlamini and Ms Khota, citing lack of service delivery as the core reason.

DA councillor, Mr Tornado Nkambule, then said Mr Dhlamini and the ANC leadership have failed the people of Lekwa dismally.

“We cannot sit idle as our town is ruined.”

Ms Mapaseka Molaba, ANC chief whip, abstained from voting after threats were directed at her, also in songs.

Members of the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco), who support Mr Dhlamini, made their presence felt throughout the meeting by singing and shouting.

Threats were directed at council members, especially those of the ruling party who were suspected of supporting the motion.

Opposing parties submitted a motion for a secret ballot, which they won by 14 to 12 votes. Mr Dhlamini spoke to his supporters outside the Standerton Town Hall after the meeting, alleging that there were Judas Iscariots in the ANC.

He also alleged that secret meetings between the DA, EFF and Civic Voice took place to topple him.

According to the DA’s PR councillor, Ms Sithi Silosini, the chaos was a sign of the ANC leadership.

“The speaker failed to protect the house in the meeting and did not advise the public to behave in an orderly manner,” Ms Silosini said.

Standerton Police were on hand to facilitate the meeting and again last Thursday to monitor the situation.

The fracas last year did not end there because according to police, four men wearing Sanco t-shirts came to the Lekwa municipal offices, carrying a welding machine, later that evening.

“They welded two iron bars in an X-shape on the door frame of Ms Molaba’s office,” Capt Fanie Nhlabathi, communications officer, said.

The next page in the crisis was when Ms Molaba and Ms Khota were at loggerheads in the council chambers during Sasol’s handover of an electricity infrastructure development project.

Ms Molaba allegedly disrupted the briefing session when ordering the Sasol delegates to leave the chamber and Ms Khota recorded it on her cell phone.

The chief whip allegedly assaulted the speaker over the recording and Ms Khota opened an assault as well as intimidation case at the Standerton Police Station.

Ms Molaba however, had jumped the gun with a case of intimidation against the speaker.

The aforementioned memorandum alluded to leadership of the ANC redeploying inter alia Ms Molaba and demanded that the regional chairman of Lekwa, Mr Musi Chirwa, be removed, as well as cases against branch leadership be withdrawn.

They appealed in the strongest possible terms to the national executive committee of the ANC for the Lekwa sub-region to be disbanded and replaced with a task team.

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