The outgoing African National Congress’s task team in the North West acknowledged its mistakes as the province kicked off its elective conference on Friday. The task team has been running the province for the past 17 months since the provincial executive committee (PEC) was disbanded.
In his political report, task team convener Martin Sebakwane told the over 700 conference delegates in Rustenburg that the task team continued to be in charge even after regional executive committees (REC’s) had been elected, denying the regional leadership space to exercise their mandate.
‘We have failed to coordinate induction sessions for the new REC’s,” said Sebakwane.
‘Our delay in giving delegated powers to the REC’s is causing us to become firefighters all over the province, trying to douse fires which could have been eliminated by role clarification from the onset,” said Sebakwane in his report.
The task team also denied branches an opportunity to exercise their democratic right to nominate candidates for the provincial executive committee, to be elected this weekend. Regional conference delegates were automatically confirmed as de facto delegates to the provincial conference.
The task team has been accused of an autocratic leadership style, particularly its coordinator Saki Mofokeng.
The province will by the end of this weekend announce the new leadership, with elections expected to be held on Saturday. Slates of preferred candidates continued to change as opposing groups reached compromises and tried to form alliances.
None of the four groups commands enough support to take control on their own.
‘No permanent friends’
Sebakwane confirmed the uncertainty and anxiety around the election of the new leadership.
‘Alignments and alliances of regional conferences are changing continuously. There are no permanent friends or permanent enemies in that trading floor.”
Groups supporting former provincial secretary Supra Mahumapelo — who is seeking re-election — and those supporting his opponent Zakes Molale, faced off through songs for a short period before ANC leaders reprimanded delegates. Outside the hall delegates met under trees to consolidate support for their slates as their chief lobbyists continued talks with opponents.
ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe encouraged delegates to choose credible leaders and discouraged the use of slates for campaigning, in line with a call by the ANC’s national executive committee. He said Luthuli House would however respect to the will of members of the North West ANC. “The ANC leadership works with anybody who is elected a leader. We are not going to work with the provincial task team, we are going to work with an elected PEC”.
Task team coordinator Saki Mofokeng also presented his organisational report, normally presented by an elected provincial secretary, in which he listed the achievements of his team in rebuilding ANC structures in the province.
Under his team’s watch in the past 17 months, eight people were taken through disciplinary procedures, while five cases were later withdrawn. Fifteen ANC members in the Ngaka Modiri Molema region were suspended — and while their suspension was later lifted — their cases are still pending. Mofokeng admitted there had been cases in branches where disciplinary action was used for political battles. ‘Disciplinary processes are either used correctly to respond to anarchy, but with others it is just an attempt to muzzle those with a different view,” said Mofokeng in the report.
The report claimed that the ANC’s membership in the province increased to over 60 000, from about 47 000 three years ago. However some members still don’t have membership cards.
“We need to find creative ways to improve and to speed up the printing of cards at the regional office,” said Mofokeng. “The new PEC and the REC must always ensure that this area is properly guided and operates without interference and manipulation”.
A new song in Setswana sung by delegates expressed happiness that Mofokeng was finally leaving the province.
“A o utlwile taba tse monate, ba re Saki o a tsamaya. A a tsamaye”, [Have you heard the good news, Saki is leaving the province. Let him go]”.
Mofokeng is from the Free State and is expected to leave the North West now that the task team’s mandate has been concluded. Zakes Molale’s supporters however sang the same song against Mahumapelo’s re-election, opting to replace Mofokeng’s name with “Jesus”, the former provincial secretary’s political nickname.
ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe is scheduled to deliver a keynote address to the conference on Saturday afternoon.