ANC national conference resumes as Ramaphosa says there were ‘no betrayals’ at Nasrec

The second leg of the African National Congress (ANC) 55th national conference will resume virtually on Thursday after it was postponed due to massive delays last month.

The party has vowed to conclude the business of conference before its January 8 celebrations on Sunday in Bloemfontein, Free State.

Meeting hubs in eight provinces have been created and will be linked up to the main venue in Bloemfontein.

Members of the national executive committee (NEC), the leagues, alliance partners and the Free State delegation will be hosted at Bloemfontein’s Imvelo Safari Lodge and Conference Centre.

Phala Phala not on the agenda

This week, party secretary-general Fikile Mbalula told journalists that the disciplinary committee’s contentious Phala Phala report won’t be discussed at the conference.

He said the matter will be tabled before the newly-elected NEC should the need arise.

“There will be no Phala Phala report at the conference. We will be receiving feedback from commissions. Remember there was a motion in Parliament, and that was defeated.”

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ANC MPs who voted in favour of the Phala Phala panel’s recommendations along with opposition parties have been referred to the disciplinary committee, he said.

The conference is expected to conclude with the following:

• Report on strategy and tactics, organisational renewal
• Finances and sustainability
• Reports from commission on governance and transformation
• Report on constitutional amendments

“Presentations will be done in plenary at the main venue, and the national chairperson will then
move province by province for inputs, followed by the leagues. A conference declaration will then be concluded,” said Mbalula.

‘No betrayals’ at Nasrec

Speaking to journalists in Kroonstad on Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa remarked that there were “no betrayals” at Nasrec as ANC branches gave the party “a clear mandate” going forward.

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He was responding to a question about some of the delegates who decided to switch sides and dump his slate at the conference.

“It was a conference of branches, the basic units of the ANC spoke and expressed the views of the members. Those who might have wanted to machinate certain outcomes saw in the end how branches spoke.

“The membership has spoken so there are no betrayals or funny things, it’s just a clear mandate given to the leadership. We expect everyone to rally behind the new leadership that is now going to take this organisation to greater heights.”

Ramaphosa said although it could be the first time that the national conference was extended, it has happened with provincial conferences before.

“Time is always our enemy, we didn’t have the time. We wanted to do things perfectly but the registration process took longer than it should. And we also allowed members to talk at great length about credentials – which was good because it was democracy in action and it enabled us to agree to hold the conference in two stages.

“The policies have, to a large extent, been crafted, the second stage of the conference is going to finalise that. The declaration is almost in its final draft, including the January 8 Statement,” he said.

The conference is expected to conclude on Friday.

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