ANC structures in Western Cape are revolting against the provincial executive committee (PEC) and have called on the party’s secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and national list committee chairperson Kgalema Motlanthe to intervene.
A group that calls itself “ANC Members and Leaders”, as well as its leagues and alliance partners, accused the PEC of being conflicted to deal with complaints that involve list
processes, as it has a vested interest in the outcomes. The lists are for party representatives in parliament and the provincial legislature.
The aggrieved party insists that the composition of the provincial list committee (PLC) offends the ANC constitution and guidelines. They demand that Mbalula and Motlanthe act against the PEC for excluding alliance partners and leagues during the appointment of members of the committee.
The complainants say Mbalula and Motlanthe must find out why the PEC has been selective in implementing remedial action ordered by the national list committee.
The group holds provincial chairperson Vuyiso Tyhalisiu, provincial secretary Neville
Delport and provincial treasurer Derrick Appel in contempt due to their alleged involvement in list manipulation in 2021.
At the time, the trio, who held regional leadership positions in the province, expressed a desire to participate in the local government elections.
Therefore, the submission states, the provincial officials cannot be trusted to implement corrective measures on a deployment list they were allegedly involved in manipulating in the first place.
“These facts alone are enough of a clear conflict of interest by the provincial office bearers and their lack of political will to objectively address the remedial actions raised in the [national list committee’s report,” the structure told Mbalula and Motlanthe in a letter seen by Sunday World.
“The subsequent conduct of the [provincial officials] and the PEC confirms this
conflict of interest and lack of capacity to implement the 2021
Motlanthe report.”
The disgruntled group says the provincial list committee was wrongly constituted with people who do not qualify and did not meet the simple quorum. The guidelines required that 15 senior members who no longer hold elected positions in the ANC make up the committee.
However, they noted that only three members of the committtee attended a recent “quasi-provincial list committee meeting,” “which is far from the quorum required to constitute a sitting.”
They alleged that two of the three disputed provincial list committee members – the chair Jeffrey Africa and administrator Albert Africa – were siblings.
The complainants claimed, the Africa brothers “have never ever been ANC members in their lives” and thus could not possibly pass the first and most basic qualification hurdle to be list committee members.
The group members blame the inclusion of the Africa brothers in the provincial list committee on deputy provincial chairperson Sharon David, who they say lied to the PEC and misrepresented their credentials as former members of an ANC regional executive committee, as well as being founders of the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru).
“This is the same Sharon David who was found by the Motlanthe report to have lied when she wrote a dishonest appeal on behalf of a third party. She has a track record of dishonesty, as she was found guilty by the Western Cape legislature’s ethics committee of fraud.”
The group wants Mbalula and Motlanthe to investigate the exclusion of Cosatu, SACP, Sanco, Women’s League, ANC Youth League, and Veterans League from the list committee process.
The complainants concluded their complaint by accusing the list committee of
conducting a witch hunt to remove councillors who do not support the PEC’s dominant faction.
“None of us who were called in by the PLC are mentioned in the Motlanthe report, nor are we being listed as having been suspected of any wrongdoing. “This has led us to conclude that we are targets of factionalism.
“We therefore appeal due to the serious nature of this matter, that the work of this unconstitutional PLC be declared null and void and be investigated.”
