ANC Limpopo denies ‘divisive’ document

The document appeared on Limpopo Online about a week ago and has since disappeared from the site. Some of the claims made in it were the apparent lack of political vision in the party and declining membership in the province.

According to a statement by provincial secretary Nocks Seabi , the document had no origin in the ANC Limpopo and never served in any of its structures. The statement said the document had not been adopted at a provincial level by the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC), as all other ANC documents are, before its release and was therefore invalid.

“At a mere glance, the factual inaccuracies about the political history, programmes of the ANC in Limpopo and character assasination of ANC leaders should demonstrate the author(s)’ lack of knowledge and understanding of the ANC,” Seabi said.

“Over the years, the ANC has crafted numerous strategies, and this document is not anywhere near a strategy and cannot be dignified by being referred to as such.”

Seabi added: “ANC urges its members and members of the public to disregard the said document and treat it as another attempt to cause divisions within our organisation and weaken the morale of our members in this critical time for the preparation for ANC victory in the forthcoming local government elections.”

On Monday, another document from an ANC branch in Limpopo came out against what it saw asescalating tribalism within the ANC.

The document, which regional leaders tabled in 2012 at the party’s provincial policy conference before the Mangaung elective conference assessed tribalism in the ANC within and beyond the party’s structures.

The document, titled The Demon of Tribalism, says tribalism and the people who reinforce it undermine the values of democracy, freedom and women’s rights.

According to the document, while members have a right to identify with their ethnic groups, those affiliations do not have a place in the ANC. The document says tribalism is mostly practised during deployment of cadres in government, at social gatherings and in political discussion forums.

It further claims tribalism guarantees that employees have better chances of joining an entity if the head of a state agency or government department belongs to the same ethnic group.

– Caxton News Service