Why Mbalula withdrew ANC candidate selection memo

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula withdrew a memo endorsing councillor candidates after regional leaders revolted against what they viewed as Luthuli House interference – a version the party’s national office disputes.

Regional leaders have told Sunday World that the withdrawal was triggered by their protest against what they deemed as encroachment by Luthuli House.

But acting ANC national spokesperson Zuko Godlimpi said the withdrawal had nothing to do with a backlash; it was a calculated move to ensure everyone understood Mbalula’s instructions.

The dispute is over Mbalula’s memo, titled “endorsement of candidates preferred by communities”, sent to provincial secretaries, regional secretaries and branch secretaries on Wednesday.

On the same day, Mbalula hurriedly issued another memo, cancelling the original memo he had sent. Sources said regions and branches had rejected the original memo because it appeared as if head office was attempting to diminish the lower structures’ authority.

Ordinarily, most councillor candidates selected through branch general meetings (BGMs) end up being rubber stamped by the party. But since the “renewal wave” in the ANC as part of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s New Dawn, changes in how the party handles its processes have been introduced as the party tries to claw back electoral support.

But die-hard ANC members in lower structures, our informants say, misinterpreted Mbalula’s memo to be pedestalising candidates picked from community meetings who sometimes might be neither ANC members nor branch leaders, at the expense of members who do the heavy lifting during election season.

That Mbalula’s original memo went as far as threatening expulsion has hardened the attitudes of regional leaders even more.
“Branches and regions of the ANC must not tamper with or manipulate the results of the community meetings, and doing so shall result in disciplinary action that could lead to expulsion from the ANC,” the memo reads.

“All disputes and appeals must be lodged with the PDRC (Provincial
Dispute Resolution Committee) and PLC (Provincial List Committee), respectively, in line with the directives of the Electoral Committee. The REC/RTT, including the secretaries or coordinators, must not interfere with the work of the RIVP (Regional Interviewing and
Vetting Panel), which must order and balance the PR lists based on approved criteria without fear or favour.”

Regional and branch leaders viewed the instructions as a centralisation of power. Shortly thereafter, Mbalula cancelled his instructions.
Godlimpi told Sunday World that the withdrawal was not unusual. It aimed to clarify how the candidate selection process worked.

“The withdrawal is temporary and has nothing to do with any backlash. HQ will communicate to structures next week on the same principle. It is an important matter to clarify the political intentions of the NEC with the guidelines for candidate selection, especially the relationship between the three meetings: the ANC BGM, the Community Meeting and the final ANC BGM.

The interpretation of these NEC guidelines primarily vests with HQ. The SG will assist structures in understanding how the decisions of those successive meetings should be understood. So, there could be no such notion of overreach and we have heard no such claim from all our regional secretaries.”

Insiders said Mbalula’s memo was done in good faith, revealing that some branches were disregarding community picks, which worried Luthuli House. It also came to light that some regional structures were tampering with the process to impose their proxies.

After the letter was sent, some regions interpreted the memo to mean that final BMGs should not take place, which was apparently not Mbalula’s intended message. “We are saying that respect the (nominations) process. You can only object on the grounds of the candidate (selected by communities) having a criminal record and such.”

The withdrawal has not gone down well with veterans in the party who have been preaching the gospel of renewal. “The danger here is that if you disregard community candidates, you will lose. The ANC will lose wars and municipalities if the process is tampered with.”

Mawande Amashabalala