Supporters of rival ANC presidential hopefuls Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa in KwaZulu-Natal are accusing each other of recruiting members by fraudulent means.
The accusations, which both camps have reported to party offices in the province, came as competition between the two camps gained momentum ahead of the ANC national conference in December.
KwaZulu-Natal, because it carries the largest number of delegates, is regarded as the most influential province in the country with regard to ANC national conferences.
In recent weeks, both Ramaphosa and Dlamini Zuma have been criss-crossing the province addressing gatherings in a bid to boost their chances – even though the national executive committee has not yet officially opened the succession debate.
Complaints against Dlamini Zuma’s supporters have come from the AbaQulusi region, which is made up of Ulundi, Vryheid, Nongoma, Dumbe and Pongola.
Complaints against Ramaphosa supporters have been lodged in eThekwini, the country’s biggest ANC region.
“The aim of fraudulently recruiting members is to enable Dlamini Zuma supporters to send more delegates to the conference, as they are only recruiting those who support her,” said a member who declined to be named for fear of intimidation.
The source said when people were recruited to join the ANC, membership forms were backdated to July to reflect that the new members had completed the party’s six-month probation period and were in good standing.
“The membership forms reflect that they had been completed in July, whereas they were actually completed in March and February.
"But when the region conducted verifications, the bank denied… it received any deposits into ANC accounts, although this is reflected on the bank slips,” said the source. “People are supposed to go the branch secretaries to join the ANC, as opposed to joining in dark corners."
Another source said: "People who support Ramaphosa are denied membership.”
Spokesperson for the ANC in the AbaQulusi region, Zakhele Bu- thelezi, said: “We have received a formal complaint from one branch but other branches have raised similar concerns.”
He added the regional executive committee had formed a body to “investigate how many of these branches are affected”.
A source in eThekwini, who supported Dlamini Zuma, said that most complaints had come from uMlazi, north of Durban.
He claimed that Ramaphosa supporters were helping people to join the party without the authority of the branch leadership.