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The ANCs national working committee has given provinces that are “conference ready” the green light to elect new leadership.
The decision follows an assessment across provinces and the consideration of reports submitted by provinces indicating whether or not they are able to meet the constitutional requirements to go to regional and provincial conferences.
The last meeting of the ANCs highest decision-making body, the national executive committee, had deliberated on whether or not the conferences should go ahead in the run-up to next year’s general elections, given the tensions that come with these conferences. The party is still deeply divided along factions and leadership preferences – there was a lot of tension ahead of last year’s Nasrec conference, when president Cyril Ramaphosa was chosen to succeed former president Jacob Zuma ahead of Zuma’s preferred candidate, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
The last national executive committee meeting resolved that the national working committee – which implements the national executive committee decisions and makes recommendations to the body – should do an assessment of the conditions in provinces and take its findings to a special national executive committee meeting that would make the final call on whether or not the conferences should go ahead.
A statement issued by national spokesperson Pule Mabe following yesterday’s sitting of the working committee did not mention of the special national executive committee but instead said the working committee had made a decision on the conferences.
“The working committee also received reports on the state of readiness for regional and provincial conferences that are due to be convened,” the statement read.
“In accordance with the decision of the national executive committee, the working committee approved the convening of conferences in regions and provinces that are ready and have fulfilled all the requisite processes for the hosting of such conferences.”
KwaZulu-Natal had already indicated that it was ready for its regional and the provincial conference to sit from May 18 to 20. This will be the first conference since the 2015 provincial conference, which the Pietermaritzburg High Court last year declared null and void. The province is being run by an interim committee.
The Free State was also under the stewardship of a provincial task team, and the North West could follow a similar fate.
Mabe denied that the working committee had taken a decision to recall embattled North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo following widespread protest action, against his government.
“The working committee considered the developments in the North West Province and reflected on the deep crisis in the provincial health department and other departments in the province,” the statement reads.
“The working committee welcomed the intervention of Cabinet in the province. This is aimed at restoring good governance and ensuring service delivery is not halted. The working committee recommended that the national officials immediately meet with the premier of the North West, who is also the chairperson of the ANC in the province, to discuss all available constructive options to resolve the ongoing impasse in the interest of the people of the North West province and the movement broadly.”
