WARRING factions in the African National Congress Women’s League have been told to patch up their differences and come together to jointly plan a crucial and long-overdue national conference to take place before the end of December, when fresh leadership elections will take place.
The move marks the start of what ANC leaders hope will lead to a thaw in relations between the league and the 11 national executive members who, led by ANC veteran Adelaide Tambo, staged a walkout in February last year over league president Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s leadership.
It comes after the decision, in July, to freeze the league’s funding, a move interpreted by Madikizela- Mandela as an attempt to sabotage the league’s Women’s Day programme and “punishment” for it coming out in support of Bantu Holomisa.
But the decision was supported by those who see the league as having degenerated into little more than a faction within the ANC, serving less to advance the interests of women within the organisation than as a platform for Madikizela-Mandela to launch attacks against the ANC.
Salaries of national and provincial staff are still paid, but directly by the ANC. There is no longer discretionary slack with which to spread patronage.
The initiative arises out of a decision by the ANC’s national executive committee at its last meeting, where an assessment of the league concluded that it was a crucial organ if the ANC was to be seen as serious in addressing gender issues, and needed to be brought back on track.
Past efforts to heal the rift have not been successful and the intervening period has seen attitudes harden and relations between key league figures deteriorate.
Divisions at executive level spread to the regions, with loyalties split between those backing Madikizela-Mandela and those supporting Tambo and her colleagues, further hampering the work of the league.
ANC head of political organising, sports minister Steve Tshwete, and ANC treasurer general and chief whip, the Rev Arnold Stofile, have been put in charge of spearheading the initiative.
At the weekend they met national and regional league leaders as well as members who resigned from the executive. Madikizela-Mandela was ill and did not attend.
Tshwete said there was “a spontaneous desire for unity, an affirmation of the role the league is destined to play as the leading structure of women in the country and the realisation it could not carry out its mission with disunity in its ranks”.
However, if league members failed to work together, or there were obvious attempts to derail the unity process, the ANC would have to take appropriate steps.
“We’re not saying it’s the last chance for the league — we want to resuscitate it and give it the integrity it deserves. But we’re not going to countenance any mischief-making.”
League national executive council member Lulu Xingwana said she hoped the new initiative would heal divisions. “We are all committed to unity and to making the league work.”
A 30-member preparatory committee for the conference is to include members of the current leadershp as well as members who had resigned from the executive.
A smaller committee will manage conference logistics, and he and Stofile would sit on both structures, Tshwete said.
“This is the start of a healing process. We hope that bringing people together at national level will send a message to the regions that the problems are being resolved,” he said.
Freezing the league’s funds was not aimed at incapacitating its leadership or rendering it ineffective. However, it was necessary to alert the league to its dependence on the ANC and the need to resolve its problems.