The ANC in the Greater Tshwane region is facing a storm of allegations, with senior leaders accused of corruption, manipulation and fostering a culture of intimidation.
In a scathing letter dated August 6, members of the regional executive committee (REC) have laid bare a litany of grievances, calling for urgent intervention from the party’s top leadership.
The letter, addressed to Gauteng ANC provincial task team officials, national executive committee (NEC) deployees and national office bearers, paints a grim picture of the state of the ANC in Tshwane.
It accuses regional coordinator George Matjila and his allies of undermining the party’s renewal programme and engaging in practices that threaten the ANC’s integrity and electoral prospects. At the heart of the allegations is the manipulation of ANC membership.
The letter claims that Matjila, in collaboration with Mandla Moropa, an ANC official in the secretary-general Fikile Mbalula’s office, has been orchestrating membership irregularities to consolidate power.
“The regional coordinator openly and publicly alleged that he is working closely with the secretary-general,” the letter states, adding that the relationship was being used to manipulate membership processes.
The REC members allege that Moropa and his associates have been intimidating members during branch biennial general meetings (BBGMs).In one instance, they reportedly parked their car inside a meeting venue in Hammanskraal, to exert pressure on members.
“One comrade, Malome Ma-kou, reported that he chased them out of the venue,” the letter reveals.
The manipulation extends to the exclusion of long-standing ANC members from the party’s portal, while new members aligned with Matjila’s faction are prioritised. “This has serious implications on the ensuing work of the elections,” the letter warns, linking the decline in voter turnout to these practices.
The letter accuses Matjila of unbecoming behaviour, including assaulting a branch secretary who refused to support his re-election.
“He has been charged with assaulting the poor branch secretary,” the letter states, calling for the implementation of the ANC’s step-aside policy.
Matjila is also accused of reconfiguring branches without following ANC guidelines. “On several occasions, the regional coordinator issued verbal instructions to change chairpersons, convenors and scanners,” the letter alleges. These actions, the REC members argue, violate the party’s constitution.
One of the most alarming accusations is the alleged link between ANC leaders and political killings in Tshwane.
The letter lists several party members who have been murdered since 2012, including Tshepo Motaung in 2020 and Thabang Masemola this year.
“This conduct started towards the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017,” the letter claims, pointing to the involvement of taxi bosses in manipulation of tender and ANC structures.
The REC members express frustration over the lack of progress in investigating the killings.
“These cases were never given the same vigour of prominence as … in KwaZulu-Natal,” the letter laments.
The culture of intimidation is further highlighted in a recent incident where party members who disputed the outcome of a branch biennial general meeting were allegedly attacked.
“About four people came and discharged gunshots in the direction of the house,” the letter states, adding that one comrade was injured and a neighbour was shot.
The letter accuses Matjila of favouring certain comrades in branch deployments to secure his re-election. “Cde Tlangi Mogale, Cde Tlele Jacobs, and Cde Paul Malema are the backbone of a campaign to reinstall Cde George as secretary and Cde Bonzo as the chairperson,” the letter alleges.
This bias has reportedly led to disputes and objections in several BBGMs. “Most of the BBGM outcomes were not concluded with branch membership,” the letter states, adding that some meetings were marred by violence and ID harvesting outside venues. The REC members also criticise the lack of transparency in the delegate allocation process for an upcoming regional conference.
“To date, we don’t know which branch qualifies for how many delegates,” the letter reveals, accusing Matjila of hiding such information.
The letter concludes with a plea for intervention from the ANC’s national office bearers and the provincial task team. “We request that packages should be taken by branch secretaries at the provincial office, as the environment for intimidation has been created by the RTT coordinator.”
The REC members’ call for action is a stark reminder of the challenges facing the ANC as it seeks to renew itself and regain the trust of its members and voters.
Matjila said he already clarified all the allegations with the ANC and warned a former party spokesperson allegedly behind the campaign that he would never succeed.
The ANC had not responded to questions sent to them at the time of going to print.
