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Angry ANC members from the North West, who are challenging the party’s decision to disband its provincial executive committee, have expressed confidence ahead of their legal clash with the party this morning.
Four members, who have since been joined by former ANC North West provincial chairperson Supra Mahumapelo with the help of advocates Tembeka Ngcukaitobi and Dali Mpofu, will take on the ANC’s national executive committee in the South Gauteng High Court.
The decision took power away from Mahumapelo and his provincial structure.
The applicants in this matter have accused the national executive committee – which is the ANC’s highest decision-making body between conferences – of not acting “impartially” in dealing with the platinum-rich province.
Kutlwano Masibi, who is one of the applicants, told News24 they had explored all avenues within the political party, and felt the court would deliver the relief they were seeking.
“We have no doubt, considering the two legal gurus in mind – who come with a wealth of experience in Constitutional matters, especially those that are political in nature – that we are going to reign supreme and emerge victorious out of the proceedings,” he said on Thursday.
Mahumapelo had maintained he was the victim of a purge in the ANC, following the election of President Cyril Ramaphosa as the party’s leader during its watershed Nasrec conference in December. The former chair was forced to step down as premier of the North West in May following weeks of violent protests throughout the province as residents and ANC members rallied behind the “Supra must fall” campaign.
His province was also placed under administration, amid numerous allegations of corruption and a health system that had completely collapsed.
When asked if he was part of a group trying to discredit the work being done within the party since Ramaphosa’s ascendency, Masibi said they were not interested in entertaining those who held those views.
“What’s important is that we want justice to prevail, it cannot be that people are borrowed power to administer the politics of the ANC at a national level and all they do is to reward the Nasrec triumphant,” said Masibi.
“All of us are members of the ANC, we are paying R12, all of us, there is no super member that pays more than R12,” he added.
Masibi said although he felt it was pointless seeking an internal solution for this current challenge, the matter would be raised when the ANC goes to its national general council, which is due in 2020.
“We are still going to go for the [national general council], we believe such matters will form part of the process, we believe that ultimately, internally, we have to find some mechanisms and remedy,” said Masibi.
He added that national executive committee members needed to remember that their decisions would come under review when the party goes to conference to review its policies and the state of the organisation.
“People must go and account for their actions because we would have made representations internally, where we were cautioning and warning the leadership, saying ’this is not the right decision’. So heads must roll come [national general council]. We want accountability on decisions that have been taken,” he concluded. – News24
