The African National Congress (ANC) is in the process of raising its concerns over the Congress of the People’s (Cope) name with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), spokesperson Carl Niehaus said on Monday.
Last week, the ANC said it would oppose attempts to appropriate its political heritage, on the grounds that the Congress of the People was an ANC event marking the Freedom Charter’s adoption in 1955.
In terms of IEC rules, a party could object to another’s similar name or logo.
The ANC initially lodged a court application to contest Cope’s first choice, the South African National Convention. Then Cope discovered that its second choice, the South African Democratic Congress, was already taken.
Niehaus said it would wait for an IEC finding on their concerns before deciding whether to return to the courts.
”We will see how it goes from there,” he said.
Meanwhile, Niehaus said he stuck by his original demand of an apology from the Times It published an article indicating that the party was about to axe a personal assistant alleged to have given strategic information to former ANC communications head Smuts Ngonyama, who was being associated with Cope.
Niehaus said the PA, Vuyisa Manyandela, who works for himself and fellow spokesperson Jessie Duarte, was back at her desk and that the allegations were ”hot air”.
”She is sitting in her office and she is doing her work as a PA,” said Niehaus.
The Times on Monday again stood by its story.
At the same time, the ANC Youth League’s Julius Malema was in the spotlight again for comments he made about Cope co-leader Mbhazima Shilowa. Malema labelled him a bad father over child-maintenance payments, and took a dig at his earlier profession as a security guard.
Shilowa was once a security guard at the Star before going on to become president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the premier of Gauteng. He was recently in the news for contesting paternity of a child with a former partner. He reportedly began maintenance payments only after tests confirmed the biological link.
Malema also reportedly urged students at the University of Limpopo not to allow Cope to lobby on their campus.
ANC president Jacob Zuma reportedly spoke to Malema over his latest public statements.
Niehaus said Zuma had been reiterating the ANC’s stance of political tolerance to all its members.
In response, Cope’s Mosiuoa Lekota said ANC members were disrupting his meetings in a manner that reminded him of apartheid.
At the South African national convention earlier in the month, where the formation of a new party was agreed on, Lekota said the ANC was taking on some of the worst characteristics of apartheid.
The ANC had not received any official complaints about the behaviour of its members at Cope meetings, but would investigate if they received them.
ANC Youth League spokesperson Floyd Shivambu said although he had not been present at Malema’s speeches, he said his comments about Shilowa were ”observations” known to be true.
He said the gist of an article in the Sowetan — that the league would not listen to the ANC — was changed by the sub-editors who worked on the story.
The league took advice from the ANC but was not forced to listen.
However, Niehaus said although the league had autonomy, ”there is also the issue of who is the senior party”.
”It’s good for a child to listen to the mother party,” quipped Niehaus.
Meanwhile, a Gauteng ANC member in the Sedibeng region on Monday dismissed claims that he had joined Cope.
”An email circulating has falsely quoted my name in the provincial interim leadership of Cope … as a deputy convenor and Sedibeng coordinator,” said Senze Hlongwane in a statement.
He claimed that Sedibeng’s former mayor, Mlungisi Hlongwane, who is not related to him and who has joined Cope, appointed him to work for Cope in the region without his knowledge.
”I want to state that these are allegations trying to tarnish my name in the African National Congress as I am still a member. I am totally distancing myself from that.
”I am loyal to the ANC. I have not communicated an intention to leave the party,” said Hlongwane. — Sapa