Pretoria - The ANC veterans’ call for a consultative conference of the ANC may be granted if the party’s national executive committee (NEC) agrees to it at its meeting in Pretoria.
The party is discussing the possibility of holding a two-day meeting to discuss the state of the organisation as part of its policy conference scheduled for next year.
The NEC agreeing to the proposed conference would be a minor victory for the veterans, who have met twice with the ANC leadership this week to raise their concerns about the state of the organisation.
ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said on Saturday the NEC would discuss the proposal and make a decision after the NEC meeting.
“That is part of the input of the NWC to this meeting, that between ourselves and the veterans we are agreeing to going on an all-inclusive veterans and MKMVA (Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association) conference and ultimately go to the policy conference to look into the state of the organisation before dealing with policy issues.
“We want to involve everybody and think seriously about what can be done. The first two days of the policy conference must be spent to do what the consultative conference would do, but it would be part of the policy conference of the ANC.”
The ANC usually holds a policy conference before its national conference to review and formulate its policies, which are then taken to the national conference for debate and adoption.
But he party's policy conferences have tended to be overshadowed by its succession debates, which were thrown wide open this week when its alliance partner Cosatu openly endorsed Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to succeed President Jacob Zuma.
The ANC this week slammed Cosatu for endorsing Ramaphosa, saying this did not help to forge unity with the organisation.
Cosatu is the first alliance partner to throw its weight behind Ramaphosa, who is expected to face off against Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma in what is expected to be a fierce battle, not only for the leadership of the party but the character of the organisation amid declining electoral support.
Having lost three key metros in the recent local government elections, the party is under pressure to regain its base and retain all the provinces it currently governs.
Zuma is blamed by the veterans for his role in the decline of the ANC’s support in urban areas like the metros in Gauteng due to scandals such as Nkandla and allegations contained in the State of Capture report.
The presidency indicate this week it would take the report on review, with the DA official opposition announcing yesterday that it would challenge his application to take the report on judicial review.
The report has detailed allegations of how the controversial Gupta family has allegedly been wielding influence over some cabinet ministers and Zuma, including in cabinet appointments and the awarding of lucrative tenders at state-owned enterprises.
Sunday Independent