DURBAN - THE two factions vying for control of the ANC in the eThekwini region say there will be no court action to delay or stop the elective conference as both camps are eager to see the emergence of a new leadership.
With some regional conferences, including that of Moses Mabhida and Lower South Coast, having faced stiff opposition from some members via court interdicts, there were fears that the same thing would happen at eThekwini Municipality.
Last week, a last-minute court interdict by some ANC members in the Lower South Coast was dismissed by the Pietermaritzburg High Court, paving the way for the conference to take place this past weekend.
This Friday delegates will converge at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre for the much-anticipated elective conference, which will see former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede squaring off against eThekwini Council speaker Thabani Nyawose for the position of regional chairperson.
ANC KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela said all the preparations had been made for the conference. “We have not come across any threat of interdicting the conference. We think the contesting sides have been waiting for this conference for a while, and they want to see the process through,” said Ntombela.
Sthe Mshengu, spokesperson for the Nyawose faction, said they were satisfied with the process building up to the conference as complaints from party activists had been addressed. “We have been thorough the consultation process of members who will be attending the conference, and are quite confident that we will do well,” he said. He noted how the governing party had been hamstrung in the past because it had an interim structure in the form of the Regional Task Team (RTT), and stressed that members wanted a permanent solution.
“We need a duly and properly elected leadership because it is important for the city of Durban,” he said.
Mshengu stressed that Durban depended on solid leadership from the governing party in the region.
“We will accept the outcome of the conference because the ANC is a democratic organisation. The ANC needs to come out as the winner here because in the end there are no Thabani Nyawose members or Zandile Gumede members, there are only ANC members.”
Ntando Khuzwayo, representing the Gumede faction, said the ANC was seeking stability in eThekwini Municipality; this would only be possible through the election of new leadership. A court interdict of the conference would not serve any purpose, he said. “I do not know of anyone who would want to stop this conference because it is very important for the region. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to revive the ANC in the region, and that can only happen when there is a proper and permanent leadership structure, namely the Regional Executive Committee, and not the RTT,” said Khuzwayo. They also wanted to see the governing party emerge with a greater sense of purpose, he said.
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