The ANC has started expelling members of its Mangaung branches who supported former party members who stood against it as independents in last week’s by-elections in the Free State capital.
The ANC has started expelling members of its Mangaung branches who supported former party members who stood against it as independents in last week’s by-elections in the Free State capital.
ANC members had campaigned for its former councillors, now known as M7, who were expelled earlier this year after they voted for the Democratic Alliance’s Maryke Davies as speaker in March.
The 11 rebel councillors, who were aligned with expelled ANC secretary general Ace Magashule, had defied the party, which was backing its councillor, Bongani Mathea, as speaker.
The rebellion cost the ANC control of the Mangaung leadership troika — with the mayor’s position also the subject of a court battle — despite it holding 51 of the 101 seats in the municipality.
Letters of summary expulsion were sent to members of at least four ANC branches who had backed the four M7 ward candidates — all of whom lost to the governing party — in last week’s by-election.
In one of the letters, Thabiso Motaung, the secretary of the Tshepho Nkholi branch, informed ANC member Thabo Rasenyalo that it had come to the attention of the branch leadership that they had been “canvassing, lobbying and flaunting for the opposition party” during the by-election.
This conduct amounted to “serious delinquency” and was punishable in terms of section 25 of the ANC’s constitution, Motaung said in the letter.
“You are hereby notified that you are expelled with immediate effect upon receipt of this communique and shall forfeit any status as a member of the ANC henceforth. The ANC wishes to thank you for your immense contribution whilst a member.”
The expulsions were authorised by the ANC Free State provincial leadership and the Mangaung regional executive committee, whose secretary, Sabelo Pitso, instructed its branches to act on the day of the by-election.
The region has about 27 000 members, many of whom are longstanding supporters of Magashule, who served as Free State ANC chairperson and premier. His influence in the province may prove to be a challenge for the governing party in the coming elections.
One of the M7 candidates, Frank Ramphai, said the group was “very disappointed” in the election outcome, but blamed it on what he called “selective bias” against them by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) in the build-up to the by-elections.
Ramphai had written to the IEC last week, before voting day, complaining that independent candidates were not being given access to voters rolls for special voting and that their posters were being vandalised and defaced.
He also accused the ANC of abusing state resources in its campaign.
“The ANC has embarked on an unacceptable programme of abuse and misuse of government resources to advance their own candidates,” Ramphai said in the letter of complaint.
“Such conduct is demonstrated by government programmes in the wards where by-elections are going to be held which are disguised as government programmes whereas they are being used to promote the ANC candidates in those wards.”
The IEC had undertaken to investigate the matter.
On Friday, the ANC in the Mangaung council is expected to back a motion of no confidence in Davies, brought by the African Transformation Movement.
The notice of motion asks that Davies be removed from office over a breach of the code of conduct for councillors contained in the Municipal Systems Act for deliberately allowing council meetings to sit with no quorum.
It argues that she breached the code by allowing seven of the expelled councillors to participate in a council meeting during April after they had been barred from participating by a high court order secured by the ANC.
Afrikan Alliance of Social Democrats chairperson Papi Mokoena was elected as mayor at the unlawful meeting and was subsequently removed through another court application by the ANC.
ANC veteran Gregory Nthatisi has been appointed as acting mayor of the municipality, while Mokoena has gone back to court to try and have his removal overturned on appeal.
The notice of motion states that Davies also allowed a secret ballot on a report to take place before it had been debated and in doing so “prejudiced” members of council.
It asks that the alleged breach of the code of conduct be referred to the Free State cooperative governance and MEC for traditional affairs Ketso Makume for investigation, and that the vote of no confidence be debated and take place within 10 days.
It also asks that, should the motion succeed, a new speaker be elected by the council.
While the motion, if successful, will re-establish the ANC’s control over the troubled Mangaung council, it faces further challenges over the leadership of Nthatisi, who is a member of the provincial executive committee.
“The ANC has had to send Fikile [Mbalula, the party’s secretary general] to talk to Nthatisi twice because he is doing his own thing. Everybody is frustrated with him because he doesn’t stick to party lines and procedures,” a source in the party said.
Attempts to secure comment from Pitso were unsuccessful at the time of writing.