North West ANC: 2021 election probe ‘a waste of time’

The ANC’s plan to investigate 2021 local government election disputes in the North West is not welcomed by all in the province because it a waste of time.

The members – including members of the former provincial list committee (PLC) who extensively investigated the issue and submitted a report earlier – see Luthuli House’s new plan to conduct more hearings on the issue as duplication and waste of resources and time.

The PLC, which comprises ANC struggle veterans in the province, said Luthuli House had received a report of an investigation by the Kgalema Motlanthe electoral committee into the disputes but it was sitting on it.

Motlanthe report

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula recently instructed the provincial secretary to implement the Motlanthe report.

However, this process would be preceded by the investigation which would involve the holding of public hearings from 6 June in all the four ANC regions of Bojanala, Ngaka Modiri Malema, Dr Kenneth Kaunda and Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati. The team, chaired by Dina Pule, national executive committee (NEC) member and chair of the ANC’s organising and membership subcommittee, has been tasked with probing the disputes – including the question of “parachuted” councillors that had become a bone of contention within the party in the province.

Parachuted councillors are those whose names were sneaked into candidates’ lists without the knowledge of the communities during the 2021 local government elections. Communities protested but the ANC only acted when the affected municipal wards threatened to boycott the ANC in the 2024 national election unless it removed the parachuted councillors and put their chosen candidates back on the lists.

Luthuli House said the Pule committee did not finish its task last year due to the Nasrec national conference and it would continue with its work and prepare to present a report at the next ANC NEC meeting on 21 and 22 June.

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They would conduct hearings among party structures from 6 June However, many ANC members, including the entire former PLC, were concerned that Luthuli House wanted the matter to be further investigated because it was already conducted by the PLC and submitted by the Motlanthe committee to the NEC which adopted it.

“The communities and the affected or the disgruntled ANC members didn’t only engage with the ANC PLC North West, they provided hard copy and oral evidence during the PLC hearings,” PLC members said. The people also voiced their concerned during community meetings with then ANC NEC deployees to the North West chaired by Obed Bapela about how their own legitimate candidates who were replaced with parachuted candidates without community approval.

Senior ANC politicians, including ministers, members of parliament and mayors, have been accused of involvement in the cheating, where politically connected members were secretly included on the lists.

Bapela and his team promised to rectify the issue after the elections, an assurance that was also given by ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa later.

But, to date, the issue has not been rectified. Now the ANC is facing contempt of court charges in the High Court in Mahikeng after it failed to comply with an earlier ruling that it should rectify irregularities that occurred in three wards in the Madibeng local municipality, where the PR list was also allegedly manipulated.

The Pule team would conduct interviews with former interim provincial committee and the interim regional committees before dealing with the implicated councillors from 12 to 16 June.

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– ericn@citizen.co.za