A member of the ANC and the SACP has been left in limbo after the ANC provincial executive committee (PEC) in the Western Cape made an about turn on her deployment to the provincial legislature.
Pamela Harris, who serves as an additional member in the SACP PEC, was earmarked to fill the position left vacant by former ANC MPL Mesuli Kama, who resigned last month.
Harris, who has resigned from her employment to take up the seat as an MPL, was apparently next in line to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term until the May 29 elections.
It would be the second time Harris misses out on taking an MPL post. She was also dubbed as most likely when she was next on the candidate list to replace Danville Smith, who was expelled in 2022.
On Monday, SACP provincial secretary Benson Ngqentsu said they had learnt with shock that a letter was written to Harris advising her that the ANC’s provincial working committee had taken a decision to withdraw her deployment to the provincial legislature.
“This came despite the fact that comrade Pam Harris had already resigned from her current position in the public service and was now serving her notice as per her contract.
“The termination of the employment process is at a stage where it is irreversible, therefore we call the ANC to respect comrade Pam Harris’s rights and allow the comrade to be sworn in next week,” Ngqentsu said.
He also said Harris was working for the provincial government and had been in public service employment for more than 35 years.
“It is clear that those leading the ANC today have no appreciation of the Labour Relations Act,” Ngqentsu said.
ANC provincial spokesperson Khalid Sayed said they noted the public remarks made by their alliance partner, the SACP.
“We are handling and attending to the matter internally. We wish not to get into a discussion with our alliance partner in the public domain,” Sayed said.
Meanwhile, the SACP has expressed its reservations about what it described as an “imperfect” ANC candidate list in the Western Cape.
Ngqentsu said the SACP appreciated the rigour of the process as an expression of the reconfiguration of the alliance and renewal programme of the movement, but the list process should ideally produce a credible corps of the best of the best among members and leaders of the alliance to serve the people with integrity and diligence.
He also said that the ANC candidate selection processes was instructive on who should be deployed to either the provincial legislature or national parliament.
“One crucial candidate selection rule is an instruction that to qualify for nominations, all candidates (not some) must among other things preferably possess a post-matric qualification and/or have the capacity, experience, education or expertise that will enable them to make a sound and constructive contribution in the relevant legislature or executive.
“The fundamental basis for this approach was to ensure that those nominated and ultimately deployed to the state are distinct and have clarity of thought and therefore will be able to serve our people selflessly and wholeheartedly.”
He said the Western Cape process was mired with subjective contestation and external interference in the work of the provincial list committee.
“Such contestation and external influence potentially undermined the ideals of renewal as espoused in the candidate selection rules.
“Despite this situation and our concerns, as the SACP, we accept the outcome as imperfect as they are and we urge all disciplined cadres to focus on campaigning for the victory of the liberation movement,” Ngqentsu said.
Sayed said the ANC PEC welcomed the entire process of candidate election.
“It is a process ratified by the national leadership and electoral committee of the ANC headed by statesman and former president Kgalema Motlanthe. We welcome the process and we look forward to campaigning with each and every candidate putting in their maximum effort,” he said.
Cape Times