Johannesburg- The ANC is facing widespread ruptures as more disgruntled members campaign as independent candidates against those chosen by the governing party as the 2021 local government elections get under way tomorrow.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the ANC looks set to suffer bruising electoral defeat in its Far North region in the wake of skirmishes and crippling factional battles over the nomination process for councillor candidates, while in Eastern Cape more disgruntled members are campaigning as independent candidates against those picked by the ANC in the Chris Hani region.
An angry group of party members in the region has accused the party’s regional leadership of changing the outcomes of nomination processes to push forward their favourite candidates against those who were nominated.
Lusanda Mahashe, who is the ANC member at Chris Hani region, has written to the party leadership on behalf of dissatisfied members from various sub-regions and branches in Chris Hani region.
He said he wrote the letter after realising that disgruntled candidates were going to register as independents.
“In all 34 wards at Enoch Mgijima municipality, the ANC is contested by its disgruntled candidates, there are about 60 of them,” Mahashe said.
This is the double blow for the organisation as the newly formed Independent South African National Civic Organisation [ISANCO], which is made-up of former ANC members, is also contesting in every ward.
“This is also going to affect the party’s PR list for Chris Hani district council, where it had 50 of the 68 seats. It might hold a tiny majority or lose the district.” Mahashe added that some of the candidates who decided to go independent were leading branches as chairpersons or secretaries.
He said at Engcobo sub-region, there were 40 ANC members contesting as independents in the council of 20 seats.
Mahashe said some of the regional leadership’s favoured candidates did not have the matric prerequisite to be on the PR list. “The guidelines for the PR list is that someone must have at least matric or other qualifications. In all sub-regions like
Enoch Mgijima, Emalahleni, Intsika Yethu and others, we have people that do not have matric and have only standard two or standard six.
“The ANC talks about turning things around at Enoch Mgijima but how can you turn things around with such kinds of deployments?” he asked.
Mahashe said the party’s isolation of people of colour and their absence on ANC lists, where they have numbers, was also going to have an impact.
“At Enoch Mgijima, we have a huge presence of the so-called minority at Komani, Tarkastad, Hoff-meyer, Sterkstroom and Molteno. But we don’t have them representing their communities in the party lists.”
An ANC member who has decided to contest ward 17 at Enoch Mgijima said he was chosen by the community but the REC chose the person who came second. The member, who preferred not to be named, said: “The community advised me to stand as an independent because I was their preferred candidate, that’s why I’m standing.”
Mahashe said although the ANC promised to relook these issues and resolve them after the elections, the damage to the organisation was irreversible.
“After elections, the issues raised will be addressed. I hope comrade Mahashe and the comrades he represents are campaigning for the ANC,” said ANC Eastern Cape secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi.
In the latest round of the bitter showdown in KZN, several leaders in the Far North region have decided to throw their weight behind independent candidates.
Far North region is under the uMkhanyakude district and covers Hlabisa local municipality, Jozini local municipality, Inkosi Mtubatuba local
municipality and uMhlabuyalingana local municipality.
Mboneni Mbuyazi, a prominent ANC leader in Jozini, told Sunday World that the problems confronted by the region included a spillover of the party’s disputed regional conference where disgruntled members had raised issues of irregularities during branch general meetings.
“We requested that the conference should be postponed until all the issues were adequately addressed. The provincial leadership decided to take sides and gave the conference the green light,” Mbuyazi said.
He narrated an incident where members had converged for a community meeting under ward 5 in the area and unidentified gunmen were “hired” to terrorise members who were viewed as rebels.
“We had to run for cover when shots were fired. This was the final straw and we decided that we should encourage comrades to stand as independent candidates.”
Jozini local municipality, with 20 wards and 40 council seats, is one of the biggest in the region and is posed to be a battleground for fierce contestation among parties and independents.
Luthuli House, the ANC headquarters, has announced that candidates who were parachuted on the nomination lists will face the axe after the municipal polls.
Meanwhile, ANC Tracy Malatji branch member Solly Maake will contest as independent candidate against his branch secretary Themba Nkuna for the position of Greater Tzaneen Municipality Ward 32 councillor while Limpopo Artist Movement Provincial Chairperson and former Skeem Saam actor Mphoza Mashabela will also contest as independent candidate for Mogalakwena Municipality Ward 12 councillor. Mashabela has been pitted against EFF’s Sam Thobane and ANC’s Duncan Hlonyane.
To read more political news and views from this week’s newspaper, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
Sunday World
