Three ”mass resignation” rallies from the African National Congress are to be staged in the Western Cape this weekend, party members said on Friday.
They said branches in the Boland, Southern Cape and West Coast regions of the province plan to meet in Citrusdal, Paarl and Plettenberg Bay to hand in their membership cards in advance of next weekend’s national convention in Bloemfontein, called by former defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota.
The ANC suspended the membership of Lekota — the former chairperson of the party — on October 13 after he said he would hold a convention to discuss the possibility of forming a new political party.
A spokesperson for Moegamat Matjiet, former Boland regional secretary of the ANC, said Matjiet and other leading local ANC figures would head the rally at a sports ground in Paarl at noon on Saturday.
Mululeki George, former deputy defence minister, is billed as a guest speaker at a similar rally in the Southern Cape region of Plettenberg Bay, scheduled to start at noon on Sunday.
Local ANC leader, Zamile Xiphula, who describes himself as an ”expired” local councillor, having already resigned from the ANC, maintains that ”every ward” in the area would be represented at the rally.
Similar confidence was expressed by former Western Cape provincial ANC executive member Ornel de Beer, who is in charge of a West Coast rally to be held in the Vicky Zimry community hall in Citrusdal on Sunday, starting at noon.
”We expect a really big turnout,” he said.
MPs supported Scorpions vote
Meanwhile, the ANC Parliamentary caucus rejected reports that 20 MPs either abstained or stayed away from voting on the Bills that disbanded the Scorpions.
”We wish to place on record that all ANC MPs present in the house cast their votes in favour of the two Bills,” the caucus said in a statement on Friday.
”The 20 MPs in question were not present in the house due to unavoidable circumstances, such as poor health, family bereavements or ministerial commitments.”
The assembly approved the South African Police Amendment and the NPA Amendment Bills on Thursday night.
ANC MPs who were not absent at the time presented apologies that were accepted by the party’s chief whip, the caucus said.
In a statement earlier in the day, the ANC called on South Africans to ”rally behind” the new proposed SA Police Service directorate that will replace the Scorpions.
”The ANC would like to assure South Africans that the amended Bills are the beginning of a long process to out-root [sic] crime and corruption,” the party said.
”Having a united police force will ensure proper coordination and management to deal with organised crime.” – Sapa