Image: EUGENE COETZEE
Hands off the ANC regional task team in Nelson Mandela Bay.
This was the call by a group of ANC branch members on Tuesday, in a response to their fellow branch leaders calling for the regional task team (RTT) to be disbanded by the party’s national bosses.
On Tuesday, a group of branch leaders gathered outside the ANC’s regional headquarters, Florence Matomela House, in support of the RTT led by convener Nceba Faku and co-ordinator Luyolo Nqakula.
Ward 14 branch chair Luvuyo Mini said the group was responding to calls for the RTT to be disbanded. He said the RTT was doing sterling work.
“There were a group of comrades who came here yesterday demanding the National Executive Committee to disband the RTT.
“Today, the majority of branches, 35 out of 48 branches are here to say hands off our RTT because it has done sterling work.
“On Sunday, we had a zoom meeting with the NEC where all branches were given a chance to table reports on work being done and closing off the meeting comrades [Pamela] Tshwete and [Nomvula] Mokonyane expressed their appreciation for the work being done,” Mini said.
A power struggle within the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay recently saw some within the ANC caucus directly defy instructions in council when a group of dissenters voted for Mvuleni Mapu as the metro’s new acting city manager despite being told not to.
Acting chief whip Litho Suko also bypassed the RTT and provincial bosses when he wrote a report to secretary-general Ace Magashule raising several allegations against the RTT.
Mini said he failed to understand the ultimatum the other group had given the NEC to disband the RTT as no-one had raised this during the zoom meeting with the NEC delegation.
“The ANC NEC had also given a directive that no structures should be disbanded during this period and we are going to abide by this,” Mini said.
On Monday, dozens of ANC members protested outside Florence Matomela House, calling for the RTT to be disbanded within 72 hours.
The protesters said that failing this, they would appoint their own leaders.
Holding a statement purportedly endorsed by ANC branches, Nick Nama said they were frustrated with the regional task team and felt it had weakened the ANC.
“The current ANC regional task team was appointed in December 2018 and has been in office for one year and six months,” the statement says.
“They have dismally failed to fulfil any of the terms of reference of their appointment which are to rebuild the branches and take the region to a regional conference,” Nama said.
ANC regional spokesperson JP Pretorius said the RTT was no stranger to chaotic tactics and threats as it had endured similar tactics after the previous regional executive committee was disbanded when a group of ill-disciplined members forcefully closed Florence Matomela.
“What you see at the regional headquarters today are the last kicks of a dying horse.
“The time for ill-discipline in Nelson Mandela Bay has reached its expiry date,” he said.
Pretorius said the RTT held a regional meeting via Zoom with the PEC and the NEC where all branches reported on the state of their respective wards.
“The PEC and NEC heard first hand the work being done in the region by the RTT, if we have failed in the mandate given to us by these upper-structures then I’m sure they would have said so in the presence of branch leaders in the meeting. However they applauded us for the good work done,” he said.
On taking the region to a regional conference, Pretorius said the RTT was under the guidance of the NEC when it came to conference dates and membership audits.
“We have been ready for quite some time to take the region to conference and was waiting for the audit process to conclude and a date to be allowed for conference but the pandemic and lockdown regulations put a halt to that.”