ANC branches in the Tshwane region are revolting against their leadership over the nomination of candidates for the upcoming local government elections. About 100 members from ANC branches across the city marched to the regional offices of the ruling party to protest against the “leadership imposing leaders on the masses”.
Branch members from Mamelodi, Hammanskraal and Atteridgeville say candidates they have chosen for the upcoming elections are being replaced by candidates favoured by the regional executive committee.
They have called for the whole process of fielding candidates to be reviewed and claim their regional leadership is bribing some members to back candidates.
The irate members, who said they want the regional office shut down, started by voicing their grievances at Luthuli House before coming back to the regional office near Church Square in Pretoria.
Tebogo Mkhize, a branch member in the Mamelodi zone, said they wanted the intervention of Luthuli House as their grievances would be ignored by the regional leadership.
“This can only be resolved by the national executive committee and nobody else, because we are being ignored by leaders we have put up there to represent us. “What is the point of the process if they already know who they want to see stand as candidates?” he asked.
Another member, who chose to remain anonymous, said members in almost all the Tshwane regions were not happy. “The process of nominating candidates for the upcoming elections is flawed, because the leadership is choosing its own people to stand.
“The voice of the branches is being ignored, because the leadership is choosing its own candidates and that is not how the process is meant to unfold. “We want Sputla (Ramokgopa) to address this issue and stop imposing leaders on us, because we are supposed to choose our own leaders,” she said.
ANC regional spokesman Burton Joseph dismissed allegations against the leadership as unfounded as an “open, consultative and democratic process” was followed in the nomination of candidates. “The process made provision for objections and we received many of these and they were all dealt with, with some deliberations going on until the early hours of the morning.
“The process was overseen by the regional list committee in close consultation with the ward screening committee. Any allegation of wrongdoing on the part of the leadership is completely unfounded,” said Joseph.
Tshwane community spokesman, William Baloyi, confirmed that the protesting members had not vandalised any property and had been peaceful during their appearance at Church Square, even though police had been called in to keep an eye on the situation.
A senior regional ANC official who cannot be named as she is not authorised to speak to the press, regarded yesterday’s protest as a culmination of the leadership “short-changing” the masses.
“This was always going to happen and we have to admit that we have wronged our people in many areas where their preferred people have been removed from lists.
“We still remain with factions in the region and for as long as that continues, there will always be conflicts regarding the fielding of candidates.
“We have to start listening more to the branches because this has led to the destruction of many regional and provincial executive committees around the country,” she said. - Pretoria News