Despite an instruction from his political bosses to step down from the Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral committee, Andile Lungisa is digging in his heels and staying put.
The ANC councillor says he will fight the matter internally.
Lungisa has been bolstered by a group of well-known businessmen and ANC veterans, who have rallied around him and called on the Eastern Cape leaders to leave him alone.
At a meeting in New Brighton’s Nangoza Jebe Hall on Wednesday, businessmen Lithemba Singaphi and Mike Xego, and representatives from the religious sector, warned the provincial executive committee to listen to them.
They said they were going to write a letter to the ANC's national leaders to demand that the party’s top six, which includes President Cyril Ramaphosa, come and answer questions about what they want for the metro and explain what Lungisa has done wrong.
Singaphi said until the top six addressed them, the regional headquarters – Florence Matomela House – in Port Elizabeth would remain shut.
“The ANC will not conduct any political programmes in the metro until this matter is resolved – meaning there will be no BGMs [branch general meetings], there will be no campaigns, nothing,” he said.
“We also took a decision that the offices of ANC councillors should remain closed so that those at Luthuli House [in Johannesburg] can understand the gravity of the situation.”
The ANC’s provincial working committee had instructed the regional leaders on Monday to implement a resolution taken by the national executive committee (NEC) that Lungisa should resign as mayoral committee member in charge of infrastructure and engineering.
However, Lungisa insisted on Wednesday that he would not resign.
“There will be no resignation. I will engage with the NEC internally because I did not join the ANC last week.
“I know how ANC processes work and I will engage them internally,” he said.
Lungisa was convicted of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm earlier in 2018 for hitting DA councillor Rano Kayser over the head with a glass jug and sentenced to an effective two years in prison.
He is appealing against the conviction and sentence in the Eastern Cape High Court.
The ANC’s provincial working committee was in the Bay on Monday to assess the regional structure and to instruct it to implement what it said was a decision by the national bosses that Lungisa must step down as MMC.
The party does not want him representing it as a senior leader until the appeal process is completed. However, he will remain an ordinary councillor.
ANC provincial chair Oscar Mabuyane referred questions to provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi and spokesperson Gift Ngqondi, neither of whom responded.
ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi did not respond to calls or texts to find out what would happen should Lungisa not resign.