/ 9 December 2008

Cope leadership to be decided on a ‘consensus basis’

The Congress of the People’s (Cope) inaugural conference in Bloemfontein will not be turned into another Polokwane, with jostling for positions.

Cope general secretary Charlotte Lobe said the conference starting this weekend is not an elective conference; rather, the party’s formal leadership will be named after delegates have been given an opportunity to decide the matter on “a consensus basis”.

“Our focus is on a team of people who will take Cope to the 2009 elections,” she said.

Cope revealed that it has registered more than 400 000 paid-up members, excluding members that have opted for online registration. Judging by the figures given on Tuesday, the Eastern Cape seems to be Cope’s stronghold, with 160 000 members, followed by the Free State with 74 000.

The Western Cape has got 60 000 registered members and the Northern Cape and Limpopo have managed to attract 30 000 members each. Despite Cope’s head offices being in Gauteng, the province’s membership is curiously low with only 24 000 people paying the R30 a year registration fee. Cope counted 25 000 members in the North West and 15 000 in Mpumalanga. KwaZulu-Natal is the lowest with 10 000 members.

The new party is contesting by-elections in the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape, the Free State and Limpopo. It will not contest by-elections in Gauteng because, according to Lobe, the leadership decided to “contest by-elections in areas where we have particular strengths”, an indication that Cope still doubts its influence in the country’s economic hub.

Since Cope showed massive support in the Eastern Cape, the ANC has been sending powerful teams to the province, including MPs and members of the national executive committee to ensure that the ruling party does not lose the province to Cope.

Lobe said the ANC’s election drive in the province showed that the ruling party was feeling the heat from a party that it initially said was not a threat and was not worth talking about. “We welcome the fact that they realise they are now in trouble in the Eastern Cape.”

Cope’s draft policy framework was unveiled on Tuesday morning, with a much clearer direction on affirmative action and black economic empowerment.

Head of policy at Cope, Smuts Ngonyama, told the media that the party believes “these two [should] remain intact, but we need balance to ensure that they are not being used to discriminate against anyone”. The draft policies highlight the need to stimulate economic growth by increasing manufacturing and production, increasing job creation and stepping up the fight against crime and HIV/Aids.

The slogan for the inaugural conference in Bloemfontein is “A new agenda for change and hope”, and the conference will end with a launch rally at the Bloemfontein cricket stadium on December 16.