North West ANC: List committee vows to stop ‘electoral thuggery’
ANC North West leaders are implicated in the local government list manipulations that saw 155 members fraudulently occupying municipal posts.
Letters have been sent to the 155 members informing them of their illegal positions. Picture: Michel Bega
The ANC provincial list committee (PLC) in the North West is placing its hope in the special NEC (national executive committee) meeting scheduled for next week to remove 155 party members who fraudulently appeared in local government candidate lists.
The PLC, which reports to party electoral committee chairperson Kgalema Motlanthe, is tasked with “cleaning up” councillor lists that saw individuals not elected by branches taking up municipal posts after last year’s local government polls.
Letters have been sent to the 155 members informing them of their illegal positions, but the PLC faces a fight back as those in high ranking municipal posts refuse to step down.
The ANC top leadership took a decision to rectify its election lists across the country, which caused a huge outcry when elected candidates were removed and replaced with candidates allegedly sneaked onto the lists.
The party gave Motlanthe’s committee a mandate to act decisively where it identified tangible evidence of manipulation of the selection process.
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‘Worst thuggery in the history of the ANC’
However, the PLC finds itself at loggerheads with the interim provincial committee (IPC), as some of its members are implicated in the “electoral thuggery”.
PLC deputy chairperson Joe Mboweni said the list committee was there to follow the law and the constitution of the ANC, and will do everything in its power to remove “parachuted” members in the province.
“We are waiting for the NEC sitting so that we can toe the line. There is also a case before the courts on this issue of lists. It may end up at the Constitutional Court, but we are confident that the NEC will resolve it come next week… either way, whether it’s the court or the NEC, this issue will be dealt with.”
He added that in some municipalities, people from outside the province were brought in to benefit the ANC leaders in the North West.
“A person from KwaZulu-Natal, who has never lived here and is unknown to the community, is installed as a councillor, much to the dismay of the community. That level of electoral thuggery infringes on the rights of communities to choose their own candidate.
“Hence in our recent report, we stated that there has never been such thuggery in the history of the ANC since [its formation] 1912. The illegal lists we investigated have mayors, speakers and other executives who refuse to resign… some of them tell us our 155 is an exaggeration and that its only 28 persons. How do they know that when they’ve never launched an investigation?” asked Mboweni.
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At least 38 ANC politicians in the North West had been identified as being among the manipulators of the lists.
Mboweni said the illegitimate candidates would have to pay back the monies they illegally earned for the past few months.
This, he said, should be taken up by municipal managers to recover the monies in accordance with the Municipal Finance Management Act.
The embattled province was supposed to hold its elective conference over the weekend, but that seems unlikely as some branches are yet to hold general meetings and auditing is far from completion.
Former premier Supra Mahumapelo has reportedly put his name in the hat to contest for chairperson, after he was nominated by his branch in Mahikeng.
Other prominent candidates include incumbent Premier Bushy Maape and ANC MP Nono Maloyi.
