Durban - THE KwaZulu-Natal ANC has insisted there are no divisions in the provincial leadership in the wake of an order to rerun its eThekwini regional election.
At a media briefing at the party offices on Wednesday, provincial secretary, Sihle Zikalala, said the outcome of the bruising elective conference was challenged by comrades who complained that wards 16, 30 and 74 were not supposed to participate in the conference because they had been disqualified during an audit.
“The ANC national officials have since called for the conference to be reconvened. It must be stated that the office of the secretary-general had suggested before the conference that these wards not be allowed to participate.”
He said the party’s provincial executive had adopted the national call after “robust and sober” engagement so that “all comrades can be satisfied”.
“The provincial leadership has since briefed the regional leadership and branches about this decision and they have also agreed that there is a need for this process to unfold. We call on our structures to co-operate so that this process can be speeded up.”
He said the process of reconvening the conference would be determined by the provincial executive soon.
The pre-conference branch general meetings were mired in insults, threats and violence.
In December, a pro-James Nxumalo member was shot in the head while another was run over by a car during a disrupted branch general meeting (BGM) in Ward 1 branch (KwaXimba).
Troubles
Other branches had their fair share of troubles during the branch general meetings.
The violence and disruptions were fuelled by factionalism that was threatening to rip the party apart. A source in one of the branches blamed the leadership for the chaos and the challenging of the conference results.
“In fact there were five branches that were at the centre of the dispute. Those are wards 16, 30, 74, 37 and 45.
“The first three branches did not pass the audit because voter rolls and registration forms were tampered with.
“The last two branches, 37 and 45, never held their BGMs but a political decision was taken by the provincial leadership to let them participate in the conference.
“That was just part of the problem,” said the source.
When questioned about the other two branches (37 and 45), Zikalala said the fate of the five branches would be deliberated on by the provincial executive.
He said he noted the media reports which “paint a wrong” picture that the ANC leadership in KwaZulu-Natal was divided.
Political analyst Xolani Dube said the decision to hold the elections again was the right one, however, but keeping those elected to office pending the poll was contradictory.
“If you nullify the results of the conference which put the members in these positions, it’s baffling that they remain in office,” he said.
However, Zikalala said the REC would remain in office only until the ANC was able to clarify the process for the re-election a date for which has not yet been set.
Additional reporting by Nosipho Mngoma
Daily News