THE man at the centre of the Mandela funeral scandal has been re-elected into the regional secretary position by ANC delegates at the party’s Buffalo City Metro elective conference held at the weekend. In a result expected by many leading up to the two day conference, a collective led by Pumlani Mkolo and Xola Pakati secured the top five leadership positions. BCM deputy mayor Pakati was elected as regional chairman, while Mkolo, his co-accused Luleka Simon-Ndzele, and controversial councillor Sindiswa Gomba were all elected to the regional executive committee. Simon-Ndzele is deputy chairwoman and Gomba an additional member. The election of additional members caused tensions at the conference as seasoned men leaders, like Siyabonga Jabavu, had to make way for women colleagues. The controversial election of councillor Mlandeli Ngabayana, who was not even a delegate at the conference, caused a major stir. And some ANC members, who were against the convening of the conference, have already vowed to dispute its outcomes. Group spokesman Xolani Somaca said yesterday: “We will petition the national office about this. We have a question as to what happened to Mkolo’s suspension? “What were the terms of his suspension and whether what he was suspended for has been resolved?”
Mkolo had been placed on “leave” a few months ago by ANC provincial leaders following allegations of membership rigging. His deputy, Mkhangeli Maleki, was tasked with acting as the region’s secretary. Maleki has been elected deputy secretary and Transport Department spokesman Ncedo Kumbaca regional treasurer. The conference was convened despite disgruntled members calling for it to be postponed. That group – supported by ANC members from the Alfred Nzo and OR Tambo districts – handed over a list of grievances. Among their demands was that a report on membership rigging be made public and all outstanding disputes be addressed. In his opening address, ANC provincial chairman Phumulo Masualle warned of decreasing party membership in the region. In the BMC region of about a million people, “we only have less than 10 000 members”. At the opening, police had to use stun grenades to control unruly protesters outside.