The ANC Women’s League national conference, initially scheduled to start on Friday, has been moved by a week.
This after ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula summoned the women’s league national task team to a night meeting on Monday.
According to Baleka Mbete, task team convenor, it was immediate after midnight that all who attended the heated meeting agreed that there were loopholes which needed more time to deal with.
Some in the competing factions have claimed that the postponement was occasioned by the fact that Mbalula’s preferred slate is not confident that it has enough numbers in terms of voting delegates.
Mbalula and Luthuli House’s head of organising Mdu Manana have been fingered for allegedly cooking conferences and interfering with their outcomes.
But Mbete denied that the same was the case in the processes leading up to the league’s national congress, where Bathabile Dlamini will take on Sisisi Tolashe for the position of president.
“We can assure you that we took the time, welcoming the opportunity of the ANC led by the secretary-general [Fikile Mbalula], and requesting to be convinced by us as a particular structure of the ANC that we are ready for conference,” said Mbete during a press briefing at Luthuli House.
“It was at midnight that all of us collectively in that meeting came to the conclusion that we need an extra week, not to provide a perfect product because there will never be a perfect product when you are preparing for conference.
“What happens is the emergence of all kinds of manifestations of individual interest and forces at play that come into that space. That is normal human behaviour.
“Human interest will then collide in that space as you move to the high point, ours is to focus on the integrity of focus and that was our focus last night.”
The league’s task team fundraiser Maqueen Letshoha-Mathale said the ANC can interfere all it wants because members of the league are first members of the ANC.
According to her, the task team cannot operate independently from the mother body, because it is comprised of appointed individuals who were not elected.
Therefore, seeking guidance and direction from Mbalula’s office was very much in order.
Said Letshoha-Mathale: “We are the first members of the ANC before we become members of the women’s league.
“We are also a national task team appointed by the ANC mother body, so we will always go back there to seek guidance and leadership, so there is no interference. The ANC Women’s League is autonomous, yes, but we expect leadership guidance from the ANC.”
She added that the conference that is now starting on July 21 will not encounter logistical challenges as everything has been paid for, including transport, accommodation, and conference venue.
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