By Political Bureau
The ANC head of policy, Jeff Radebe, has urged party members to stop "commercialising" the ANC and to put an end to the infighting between cadres deployed in the government and those who are in party structures.
Radebe was speaking at the Mpumalanga provincial conference in Nelspruit where MEC for agriculture and land affairs David Mabuza was elected party chairperson on Saturday.
Radebe warned that if the ANC failed to effectively end the infighting, the party would lose its credibility.
He called for the ANC to develop platforms where structures of the party and officials in government would discuss programmes on a continuous basis.
He cautioned against factionalism which had characterised the ANC and had permeated from branch to national levels even before the Polokwane conference.
"This has brought in battles that have divided the movement and cast doubt on its integrity," said Radebe.
He urged the ANC to stop the rot "at its root". Radebe said "opportunism" by people who were joining the party to get rich had eroded the ANC's values.
"There is nothing that prevents people from pursuing wealth accumulation for as long as this is done within the confines of the law and not at the expense of the organisation," he said.
The conference was postponed in July because of infighting within branches.
While the conference ran smoothly without any of the anarchic behaviour that had typified ANC conferences since the December Polokwane congress, it was clear from delegates that this conference was about securing jobs and government tenders.
Soon after Mabuza was announced as the victor, edging Mbombela mayor Lassy Chiwayo by 85 votes, Mabuza's camp chanted songs implying that the victory was about money and government tenders. - Political Bureau