The ANC’s Western Cape woes continue. The party has just disbanded its provincial executive committee and now its alliance partner the SACP has asked it to institute an investigation into the alleged misuse of elections funds in the province.
Through its provincial secretary, Benson Ngqentsu, the SACP said the ANC leadership in the Western Cape had been “at war with itself for far too long” and welcomed the call by the ruling party to disband the PEC.
Ngqentsu called on the ANC to take action through instituting an investigation into allegations that elections funds were misused, a call the alliance partner has made prior to the May 8 national and provincial elections.
Ngqentsu said the alliance partner was aware that the disbandment of the PEC did not mean that opportunists would not be seeking to make use of this opportunity to advance their own factional battles.
“We will remain resolute and vigilant in exposing these elements and appeal to the secretary-general’s office [Ace Magashule] to avoid any factional manoeuvre that will condemn our structures into endless divisions,” said Ngqentsu.
The ruling party dissolved the Western Cape’s PEC on Friday, citing years of infighting that were bringing the party in to disrepute.
National spokesperson Pule Mabe said that the ANC had grown tired of the public spats and the factional battles.
The ANC’s national executive committee meeting held last weekend in Tshwane resolved to disband the provincial executive committee, whose mandate had expired. The PEC was still operating awaiting a provincial conference.
Read: Why the ANC dissolved the Youth League and Northwest provincial committee
The fractures within the PEC were worsened after the party’s dismal performance in the May elections.
The ANC in the Western Cape received the worst defeat in the May provincial elections receiving 28% of the vote.
At the time, provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs said the poor performance was because of the internal divisions and ongoing factionalism
Mabe said the ANC would send its Western Cape national executive committee deployees to the province to engage with party structures as part of organisational building and renewal.
“A provincial interim committee will be established in accordance with the ANC constitution. The immediate task of the provincial interim committee is to implement the process of renewal and rebuilding in the province and to prepare the province towards an elective provincial conference,” said Mabe.
Before the May elections, the party accepted a R1-million donation from businessman Iqbal Survé for logistical support for volunteers on election day. The money was instructed to be returned to the owner but it had already been distributed to ANC regions in the province.
The provincial treasurer, Maurencia Gillion, was suspended by the provincial working committee for her role in securing the money .
This ended in a public spat when Gillion was reinstated a day later by the PEC.