MBOMBELA – The Save the ANC Mpumalanga Campaign is not dead.
Mr Sipho Monareng, one of the leaders of the campaign which was established earlier this year, said they have changed their strategy.
At the ANC provincial elective conference over the weekend, the campaign fielded no candidates.
Incumbent provincial chairman, Mr David Mabuza, was elected unopposed to serve a third term.
The campaign was strongly opposed to Mabuza standing for a third term. They claim the decision was taken by delegates who were not mandated to make such decisions. They further argued that membership was being manipulated, in violation of the ANC’s constitution.
In July they marched to the party’s provincial offices because their grievances were not being heard.
They approached Luthuli House, and when this also failed to draw attention to their concerns, the group threatened court action to stop the conference.
It has come to naught. And while the campaign’s supporters refuse to leave their organisation, Monareng denies being back in Mabuza’s camp.
“I don’t care who tells you what. We are active, we are selecting our own candidates. We met with the ANC elders last week. They said they didn’t realise our concerns were so valid and undertook to come back to us with a plan forward before the end of the month. If they don’t, we will continue to establish our own branches,” he said.
He says they decided against the court action, and instead address matters of bigger concern to the broader public.
“Our focus is very much on the local-government elections of next year.”
