POLOKWANE – The ANC Peter Mokaba Region’s task team has opened up about several organisational challenges it has faced in preparing for its controversial 10th regional conference, set to take place this weekend.

The team, which includes most of the former executive members whose term of office lapsed nearly five months ago, is racing against time to ensure that new leadership is elected within six months from December, in line with party rules.

However, preparations have not been without irregularities. These include alleged sabotage during branch elections—some of which resulted in reruns of executive elections—raising concerns about compromised democratic processes.

Branch disputes are also at the forefront of the issues faced. The team claims the Provincial Dispute Resolution Committee (PRDRC) has not kept them informed about how many disputes have been submitted or when they are expected to be resolved.

Task team leader John Mpe, who is also favoured by some branches for a third term as regional chairperson against challenger Mamedupi Teffo, addressed the media earlier today (Friday) at the Polokwane Council Chamber. He expressed concern over the lack of communication from the PRDRC, stating that requests for updates had been made on three separate occasions without response.

These unresolved branch disputes may impact the required threshold for the conference to proceed. Despite this, Mpe said the team remains confident that the committee will expedite the process in time for the critical conference to take place as planned.

Originally scheduled to begin today (Friday), the conference has been postponed due to these delays and is now expected to take place from Saturday through Sunday.