The internal battle in the ANC in the North West has taken a turn for the worse.
The leader of Umkhonto weSizwe veterans in the province claims he is being intimidated to support President Thabo Mbeki, while members of the provincial executive committee (PEC) have tightened the screws on Premier and provincial chairperson Edna Molewa.
Alfred Motsi, Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veteran Association provincial chairperson, opened two cases of malicious damage to property at the Rustenburg police station last month. He claimed he is being victimised for openly supporting presidential hopeful Jacob Zuma.
North West is known to be a province that supports Mbeki, but nominations from branches for the Polokwane conference show Zuma has a significant following.
Motsi claimed the first incident occurred on October 30 this year when he attended a council meeting at the Rustenburg Civic Centre. He found his car damaged after the meeting. The second incident took place at the beginning of November when Motsi’s car was damaged in the basement parking of the municipal offices, known as Missionary Mpheni House. The damage to his two cars amounts to R70 000, Motsi said.
Motsi claimed that, during the branch general meeting at Lethabong, the ANC PEC promised party members jobs at the Rustenburg local municipality if they voted for Mbeki. He said the same comrades told ANC members at Phatsima not to vote for Zuma, because he would do away with pensions and grants.
‘I told these members that it is a lie and these grants are part of the ANC policy and can’t be cancelled. The members canvassing for Mbeki contradicted my statement, saying that I drive beautiful cars. They repeated this four times. After this incident my cars were sabotaged. This is why I believe that it [the damage] was politically motivated.â€
Motsi said municipal employees are being coerced to align themselves with Mbeki.
‘The provincial leadership of the ANC wants people to vote for Mbeki. Many party members have nominated Mbeki because of this intimidation. Even the mayors of various provinces have been intimidated,†said Motsi.
Supra Mahumapelo, ANC secretary general in the province, said he had received Motsi’s letter of complaint and discussed it with the leadership of the party. Mahumapelo believed the incidents of damage to Motsi’s cars were not politically motivated and said Zuma supporters were fabricating these allegations.
He accused Motsi of intimidating other branch members of the party to nominate Zuma as president. ‘He [Motsi] went to several branches during nominations, intimidating people, claiming he is untouchable,†Mahumapelo said.
Meanwhile, PEC members of the ANC have expressed unhappiness with Molewa for appointing farmer Jan Serfontein as provincial agricultural minister without consultation. Serfontein replaces Elliot Mayisela, who was fired recently by the ANC.
It was reported this week that some PEC members wanted Molewa removed as premier and provincial chairperson and replaced by her deputy chairperson, Dr Molefi Sefularo, but Mahumapelo denied this.
‘No provincial executive committee in the ANC can ever take such a decision. Only the president or death itself can remove the premier before the end of a five-year term.â€
Reacting to claims that he initiated a smear campaign to remove Molewa, Mahumapelo said: ‘How can I oust her? I don’t have the power to remove anyone as premier.â€
He said false information might have been leaked to the media after the North West ANC’s annual meeting. During the meeting the performance of the leadership was discussed and no one was spared criticism, he said.