Durban - Two of the biggest regions in KwaZulu-Natal have slammed the newly elected ANC eThekwini leadership’s demand to have two positions in the provincial top five as a federalist or regionalist approach.
In its first post-conference media briefing this week, the newly elected structure announced that it wanted none other than two seats in the provincial top five positions after the conference in July.
Making the announcement, the regional secretary, Musa Nciki, said as the biggest region, not only in the province but in the country, their demand was not unreasonable and vowed to lobby other regions to support them.
Nciki said it would not be something new as they were asking to retain what they have.
Currently, the region is represented by Mdumiseni Ntuli as the provincial secretary, who hails from ward 1 in KwaXimba west of Durban and Nomusa Dube-Ncube, who is from KwaMashu as treasurer.
Musa Dladla regional chairperson Mdu Mhlongo said although their conference was not set to take a decision on such matters, the idea borders on federalism, which the ANC was totally against.
He said leaders are elected as a collective to serve all the members in the province not a particular region’s interest, adding that the important structure was the provincial executive committee and would not matter which comrade was given bigger responsibilities than others in the form of being in the top five.
“I do not think it is the correct idea because it borders on federalism which our movement despises a lot. The ANC is a unitary organisation, not a federal one where you see one region or province pulling in its own direction contrary to the rest, but I believe such a decision will be digested by the delegates at the conference and take on decision depending on how they have felt about it,” said Mhlongo.
His region, which incorporates Empangeni/ Richards bay, Nkandla, Melmoth, Eshowe and KwaMbonambi, will hold its elective conference next week. The region is the second biggest with 107 branches after eThekwini with 111.
The third biggest region, Mzala Nxumalo, with 95 branches, also frowned on eThekwini’s decision. The region’s secretary, Zakhele Buthelezi, said although he would not want to comment as a leader because their conference might take a different view to his, but the decision was regionalist, which the ANC does not subscribe to.
Buthelezi’s region, which is composed of Vryheid, Ulundi, Nongoma, Edumbe and Pongola, would hold its conference this weekend.
eThekwini regional spokesperson Mlondi Mkhize defended his region’s position saying there was nothing federal or regionalist about their decision. He said it was every region’s wish to be represented where decisions were being made and their region, like others, would want its own representative there, adding intensive lobbying would take place with other regions.
Daily News