Another ANC elective conference postponed as disputes rage on

The ANC in Dr WB Rubusana region in the Eastern Cape has postponed its elective conference amidst numerous electoral disputes at different branches. This as President Cyril Ramaphosa warned members about the ANC being a “house on fire”.

He took the burning of an ANC office in Mpumalanga by a disgruntled member as a metaphor to explain the violence that had engulfed the party’s structures.

But an expert said this was a “scare and conquer” tactic by the president, as he would want to scare the structures into action that would justify his own re-election.

Ramaphosa expressed concern about conflicts at gatherings of the party structures and increasing trends by dissatisfied members to take the party to court.

Addressing delegates at the ANC Mpumalanga conference at the weekend, the president said the ANC was a house of fire – referring to increased violence at party gatherings in Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and in other regions.

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Ramaphosa noted that ANC councillors had been attacked and some killed due to political rivalries within the ANC. There were scuffles and even shootings at some branch meetings.

According to Ramaphosa, this left the impression that ill-discipline had been normalised in the ANC. The situation sent a message that the party was “too preoccupied with putting out internal fires instead of fixing this country and improving the life of its people”, he said.

Political analyst Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast said the current conflicts were due to some having lost power and who felt Ramaphosa was entrenching himself with his ANC renewal initiative.

“They may be justified to think that, because you can use renewal as a tool to purge,” Breakfast said.

The situation will impact negatively on the party votes in future elections, Breakfast said.

Another political analyst, Prof Dirk Kotze, said by warning members in Mpumalanga about the ANC being the “house on fire”, Ramaphosa was justifying party changes that must take place in his favour.