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Impatient members of a bitterly divided ANC in KwaZulu-Natal are gearing up to defy the national executive committee (NEC) should it put a lid on their plans to go to conference.
City Press has heard about plans by ANC members aligned to the Sihle Zikalala camp to rally the support of one third of branches to forge ahead with regional and provincial conferences.
They are confident he would emerge as chairperson should a provincial conference sit in the next month or two.
Insiders told City Press that branches would be willing to invoke what they say is their right to a conference – if one third of branches say so – even if the highest decision-making body between conferences, the NEC, does not give the green light.
At the NEC’s last sitting in March, members of the body debated whether or not to put a freeze on regional and provincial conferences until after elections.
Regions which back the Zikalala camp say they are ready to go to their regional conferences and then the provincial conference, where they will look to reinstall Zikalala as chairperson.
This week saw Zikalala supporters take to the ANC provincial office demanding that the provincial conference happen as a matter of urgency.
They also indicated their support for former president Jacob Zuma, saying they would come out in numbers at his next court appearance.
Zikalala will face off against his now counterpart in the provincial interim committee (PIC), Mike Mabuyakhulu, a supporter of former chairperson Senzo Mchunu, who was ousted from the position at the 2015 conference.
Mabuyakhulu told City Press this week that the NEC decision on whether or not to allow the conferences to go ahead would be informed by more than regions indicating they are ready.
“The last NEC resolved that the sitting of regional conferences would be a result of an assessment made by the national executive committee.
“There are a number of factors related to that decision. One of the things the NEC was worried about is that conferences, by their nature, cause tensions,” Mabuyakhulu said.
“The NWC [national working committee] will be in the province this weekend. They will assess where regions are at, and then meet with the PIC as well before making their decision. They can then decide that some or all regions should go for conferences, and ultimatelythe provincial ones as well.
“The issue is not about whether or not we are ready as a province. It is about the wisdom of the NEC, having considered all the factors, and whether it is appropriate for regions to go to conference and whether the provincial conference can also go ahead.”
The Mabuyakhulu camp, by the admission of some, would prefer a few months to prepare for the conference.
That camp is also divided between those who prefer that former eThekwini mayor and SA Communist Party leader James Nxumalo stand for the position of chairperson as opposed to Mabuyakhulu, who is facing charges of corruption and money laundering.
Tensions in the province spilt over at the ANC’s elective conference in December last year, when all leaders from the province who contested for the top six positions were snubbed by delegates.
