A group of Cope leaders from seven provinces, the Cope Youth Movement and the Cope Women’s Movement have confirmed reports that a faction is planning to split from the party should next week’s elective conference not go its way.
They said on Thursday that the faction called itself “members and leaders supporting the re-election of Mosiuoa Lekota as president of Cope”.
Supporters of Cope deputy president Mbhazima Shilowa for the presidency, they said the faction was “mobilising for a split in the party”.
Giving rise to talk of “Cope II”, this faction argues that “there are two different visions of Cope that members need to consider and debate and then decide between the two”, the provincial leaders said.
Despite repeated denials of a looming split, with plans to oust Lekota at the conference, Lekota himself warns in an article written for the Mail & Guardian this week that the conference “will divide the party and may even split it”.
Lekota leads a delegation that has had a series of “unity talks” during the past week with the Shilowa lobby group in an attempt to mend the divisions that are playing themselves out in public.
The M&G has learned from three sources who have been attending these talks that Lekota is demanding the position of parliamentary leader, after the Shilowa group refused to entertain his demand to be retained as president.
A congress national committee member who is part of the talks and favours Shilowa told the M&G that the group was not likely to agree to Lekota’s demand.
“We will send him to Parliament — no doubt about that, but he cannot be a parliamentary leader.
“We do not need an agreement from him. The numbers are on our side,” the member said.
The current parliamentary leader, Mvume Dandala, is being punted for the general secretary position by the Shilowa lobby group.
Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces, and several other regions, have said they will not attend the national congress, but the party is pressing ahead with the event anyway. The disgruntled provinces want to have Lekota re-elected president.
The seven provinces that have said they will participate, with or without the others, are largely those who support Shilowa.
The pro-Shilowa group expressed impatience with Lekota and his lobby group this week, naming pro-Lekota leaders that it had not nominated to any leadership structure.
“Comrades [Smuts] Ngonyama and Philip Dexter are not yet nominated into the congress working committee, while the rest have been retained,” said a statement from seven pro-Shilowa provincial leaders on Thursday.
Lekota supporters Julie Kilian and Willie Madisha have been nominated to serve on the congress national committee, in an effort to encourage unity.
“We note that, while they make pronouncements about the state of readiness for the congress, Lekota and his team continue to speak to the provincial representatives to cut leadership deals for themselves,” the same statement said.
More than 2 000 delegates are expected to attend next weekend’s conference in Centurion, Pretoria.