The ANC’s national membership committee is assisting branches in Sedibeng to get their house in order to be ready for the regional elective conference. The regional conference is scheduled from September 26 to 28.
This comes after a tussle from other branches who claimed that they were being shut out of the upcoming conference. The concerns were voiced as the branches progressed to the final stage of having their membership credentials verified and meeting quorum.
Reached out to Luthuli House
Sunday World understands that when challenges came to the fore, the Sedibeng regional task team coordinator, Jason Mkhwane, had immediately reached out to Luthuli House to seek wisdom on how issues of membership, which had surfaced just a few days before the congress, could be resolved.
Some of the challenges included members of the ANC not being in good standing and, therefore, not being eligible to participate in the conference. Membership officials from the ANC’s membership office in Luthuli House paid a visit to Sedibeng in order to address the issues. They aimed to guide the leadership in the region on how they could deal with the challenges they faced.
The purpose of this visit was to assist specific branches that were still facing membership-related challenges. And as a result had not yet renewed their mandates by holding branch biennial general meetings (BBGMs).
The intervention was also aimed at assisting to ensure that no eligible branch was left behind due to technical or administrative issues. The membership officials from Luthuli House visited different wards in Emfuleni, Midvaal, and Lesedi. They addressed pertinent issues which threatened the congress and caused chaos in the process.
Provincial task team
The visit came after Mkhwane had sent a letter on August 31 to the ANC Gauteng team for help. The letter was addressed to the provincial task team (PTT) convenor, Hope Papo, and Mandla Qwane, ANC national organiser, as well as Boyce Maneli, the convener of PTT deployees to the Sedibeng region. He wanted them to address challenges faced by branches and members.
Mkhwane told Sunday World this week that there was progressive feedback and a way forward. This was after the visit of the ANC head honchos to deal with the issues of membership and branches.
“The visit by the national team went well. They came to Sedibeng to listen to the branches and to check the concerns that were raised about the membership system. The process was consultative. They met with affected wards, branch leadership and members so that each branch could present its issues directly. The officials engaged with branches one by one to verify what had been reported.
Membership database
The core issue was the sudden disappearance of names from the membership database. In many cases, memberships were moved to other branches without permission. And others just went missing right before BGMs or BBGMs,” said Mkhwane.
He added: “These consultations created space for branches to explain their grievances. The national office undertook to process the disputes in line with the ANC’s guidelines. And to ensure that the integrity of the membership system is protected.”
The conference will now go as planned from September 26 to 28.
