And next week the ANC will be opening an office in Johannesburg, its first internal headquarters since its banning in 1960. The meeting with the UDF comes at the request of the internal organisation, which wants to meet the 35- member ANC leadership body before its April national conference.
The UDF had suggested that its executive travel to Lusaka. The ANC responded by agreeing to meet, but suggested that its leaders come to South Africa. ”The meeting is now scheduled to take place inside the country. It is at last on the cards that we will have the opportunity of hearing their thoughts and views on the matter,” the UDF publicity secretary, Terror Lekota, said this week. An ANC delegation is expected in the country in the next few weeks to meet President FW de Klerk.
However, the meeting with the UDF suggests that many more NEC members may be planning a visit. It is believed the ANC wants to force the government’s hand on allowing them to return, rather than waiting for a formal amnesty. The major point of discussion is likely to be how the two bodies relate to each other now that the ANC has been unbanned. The UDF conference has been called to review the organisation’s position. ”We have to look at our operations and see how we intend to restructure ourselves to suit the demands of the moment. ”We also have to determine the relationship between the UDF and the ANC. And then of course we have to set out a programme of action for the road ahead,” Lekota said.
ANC spokesperson Tom Sebina said yesterday the ANC in Lusaka had been notified by its internal committee in Johannesburg that the organisation’s offices there would be formally opened next week. He said they would then coordinate the development of offices throughout the country. Sources close to the ANC say that the organisation has divided the country into 12 different regions, in each of which there will be a central office and a number of smaller ones – Anton Harber & Thandeka Gqubule
This article originally appeared in the Weekly Mail.
