The developments in Lephalale and elsewhere in Limpopo are a reflection of the painful state of factionalism, ill-discipline and lack of unity in the ANC, according to the SACP.
SACP provincial secretary Chuene Malebana said the party is reiterating its call for the ANC to elect and deploy to councils and legislatures only those individuals who are committed to unity and the renewal of the ruling party.
“Those who desist corruption and maladministration [must be deployed to the councils and legislatures]. This is the only solution to avoiding internal factional feuds in municipalities such as Lephalale,” said Malebana.
Malebana’s comments follow a decision by some ANC councillors to voted for DA councillor Nico Pienaar to become the mayor of Lephalale. Pienaar got nine votes against ANC-imposed candidate Aaron Mokgehle, who received seven votes during a disorderly special council meeting last week.
The ANC councillors voted for Pienaar in retaliation against their party’s provincial executive committee’s decision to axe former mayor Alpheus Thulare and replace him with Mokgehle, who had been rejected by the majority of ANC deployees in Lephalale.
The ANC councillors, who did not want to be identified, alleged that Thulare speeded up service delivery and that his axing was as a result of factions. They also alleged that he was thrown under the bus because he was not an ally of Limpopo premier Stan Mathabatha and former provincial treasurer Danny Msiza.
The ANC in Limpopo said it is still disappointed, disturbed and irritated by the conduct of its deployees in the Lephalale municipality.
Jimmy Machaka, ANC provincial spokesperson, said: “We frown against any defiance to the party mandate. In due course, the ANC will receive a report of what transpired and the leadership will reflect on the matter and decide accordingly.”
The DA congratulated Pienaar on his appointment. DA MP and Lephalale political head Beyers Smit said: “We could not allow the mayhem and lack of leadership to continue, so we decided to put forward our own candidate, who clinched the position from the ANC.
“We will now focus on a smooth transition and clean governance together with political parties who are committed to putting the residents of Lephalale first.
“Our energetic mayor and his team are united in our quest to ensure transparent governance, building the economy and the municipality’s finances, creating jobs, delivering services and tackling water issues.
“We have the utmost confidence in mayor Pienaar to uphold our standards of governance and we call upon all the residents to rally behind the mayor to bring about positive change.”
Pienaar said top on his agenda is accelerating service delivery and to fight corruption.
“It doesn’t matter how long it will take for me on the job. Even if it is for three months, I’ll deliver and won’t change my focus,” said Pienaar.
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