Ousted former African National Congress mayors and councillors in the North West have been accused of infiltrating the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) as a way of getting back at the ANC.
But the allegations, made in a Sanco document sent to the ANC for response, also indicate deep divisions within the civic organisation.
Sanco North West provincial chairperson Letsepe Boweni and provincial secretary Poppy Magongwa have written to the ANC alerting it to a “destabilisation” campaign by former councillors and mayors who did not make it on to the ANC’s proportional list for the local government elections in March.
The document is titled Destabilisa-tion, Infiltration and Mushrooming.
“We are aware that the ANC and the allies are aware that each time most of its leaders do not make it during respective conferences and/or positions in government, they tend to want to claim to be Sanco leaders and want to use the Sanco platform in confronting either the ANC leadership or those who are successfully elected or appointed to governance positions.
“This practice must be stopped, and stopped by the whole alliance confronting it as a collective,” reads the document.
Sanco’s Boweni said the group first wanted to destabilise Sanco and then the ANC.
The two men at the centre of the row, former Rustenburg mayor Thabo Mabe and former Klerksdorp mayor JC Nxamakale, have both denied any wrongdoing. Mabe said he was not even a member of Sanco. He admitted attending a Sanco regional meeting in April, but said he had been invited in his capacity as speaker of the Bojanala municipality, which includes the Rustenburg area.
Mabe said the Sanco meeting had requested him to help out with gover-nance issues, as he had the required skills. However, he had not started doing this work. “I am not angry at not being mayor. The ANC put me there for five years and I did my work. Sanco or the ANC must call me up for disciplinary action if I have done something wrong,” said Mabe.
Nxamakale confirmed he was a Sanco member. But he said the provincial Sanco leadership under Boweni had been disbanded by the national office, and he belonged to a new leadership echelon which now headed the organisation. “There was nothing wrong with me being nominated to serve in Sanco. Why should I refuse? I am comfortable with not being retained as mayor. The decision was explained to me and there is no need for hard feelings,” said Nxamakale.
Sanco national secretary general Linda Mngomezulu said accusations that Sanco was harbouring people in conflict with the ANC could hurt Sanco. But Sanco could not stop individuals from joining it. “The fact the they were not elected to the ANC does not mean they automatically oppose it. This issue has also arisen in the Eastern and Western Cape. We will be discussing it over the weekend at our national executive committee meeting,” said Mngomezulu.
ANC provincial secretary Supra Mahumapelo said the ANC would not act until Sanco provided additional information. “People have a right to associate with whoever they choose. We met Sanco and explained that to them.”