Turmoil in uMgungundlovu region as ANC group contests lists
Not only does the ANC have to deal with coalition negotiations, but the party’s poor electoral performance has also caused ructions over which councillors secured positions on the highly contested proportional representation (PR) lists and the mayoral candidates who are currently short-listed to lead Msunduzi and uMgungundlovu.
The deep divisions were laid bare during yesterday’s (November 12) march to the ANC offices in Hoosen Haffejee Street in Pietermaritzburg by a group of ANC supporters.
The group called on the ANC to hold a regional elective conference and to review candidates on the PR list who are now eligible to become councillors. In addition, they are demanding 25% youth representation on the lists.
Some members of the group threatened that if the region and the province do not respond to the memorandum, they would prevent the new city council from being constituted.
Vincent Myeni, the party’s ward 32 chairman, said supporters of the protesting group were disappointed that the Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC had not acceded to their demands.
“It seems like the structures leading don’t take branches seriously. We were hoping that after the march that we had on Saturday, the PEC would deliberate and deal with our matter. We have been told that they are going to conduct mayoral interviews and we are querying how is it that this can happen when the people shortlisted are not products of the branch nomination process,” alleged Myeni.
March organiser Mtuza Mkhize said they want the ANC to get back on track.
“We can’t sit and watch the ANC being destroyed while we are still alive,” he said.
Regional Task Team (RTT) member Mzimkhulu Thebolla received the memorandum from the protestors and undertook that it would be delivered to the “right hands.”
ANC Moses Mabhida Regional Task Team Convenor Thulani “Two Ways” Xulu said that if the complaints were about the region, then the memorandum “must go straight” to province.
“I think the problem stems from the ANC seats that were dropped due to the voter turnout. We had 23 PR seats in Msunduzi before and have now dropped to 11. I think that caused problems in terms of many people not being able to make a list. Everyone has a right to complain. There are internal processes in the party, and I think they will go through them in looking through these grievances. Let us let the leadership deal with these grievances and respond to that,” said Xulu.
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