Cape Town - ANC Western Cape secretary Faiez Jacobs came under fire as ANC members took to social media to air the party’s dirty laundry during a rowdy and heated debate.
Jacobs recently returned to his post after receiving a suspended sentence from the ANC national disciplinary committee, which found him guilty of assaulting a colleague.
His return has been marred by public spats, factional battles and infighting playing out on social media.
In the past 48 hours, ANC members have been at each other’s throats after a controversial provincial working committee (PWC) meeting, chaired by Jacobs, recommended the suspension of several West Coast members, including key party deployees to the Matzikama municipality, the apparent call for the suspension of embattled ANC provincial chairperson, Marius Fransman and the emergence of an open letter accusing Jacobs of sidelining members.
Foul language, snide remarks, personal attacks and passionate pleas for unity dominated posts on the ANC’s provincial Facebook page.
Adding fuel to the flames is the fact that the rest of the provincial ANC top five leadership were not present at the PWC meeting.
Asked for comment, Jacobs called on ANC members to desist from using social media to fight factional battles.
“I am calling on ANC members to close ranks, focus on unifying the party and servicing our people by working on the bread and butter issues plaguing the community,” Jacobs said.
But in the open letter, the Provincial Executive Committee’s Media and Communications’ Jabu Mfusi accused Jacobs of sidelining him.
Mfusi made an impassionate plea for unity, begging Jacobs not to divide the movement.
“I refuse to be drawn in factional meetings, masquerading as PWC meeting. I shall be attending my deployment to the West Coast and deliver what is important in taking the ANC Western Cape forward,” he added.
Mfusi said as a member of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee of the Western Cape, he would never carry out factional decisions or carry out decisions which were not tested in the ANC Provincial Executive Committee.
Asked for comment, Mfusi said he did not communicate internal ANC matters in the media.
“The letter you might have seen is meant for the recipients who are leaders of the ANC. We are dealing with our issues internally as the ANC family,” he added.
Regarding the PWC meeting, Jacobs said it was an ordinary PWC meeting which dealt with organisational issues.
While not going into detail, Jacobs said the PWC made recommendations regarding member in the West Coast, but it was still subject to ratification by the PEC.
“We discussed governance matters, organisational discipline and organisational renewal,” he added.
The drama sparked a heated Facebook debate, with some members questioning the decision, others cautioning against internal spats on social media, and some complaining about political infighting and smear campaigns costing the party the province at the polls.
Cape Argus