ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule was due to take part in the launch of the party’s election campaign at the Gelvandale Stadium in the Bay on Sunday – but pulled out at the last minute.
This comes in the wake of rising tensions between the ANC’s Eastern Cape bosses and the regional executive committee that was disbanded by the upper structure in October.
However, ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe said the only reason Magashule did not come to the metro was because of conflicting schedules.
Several members of the national executive committee descended on the Eastern Cape at the weekend, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, who led a “Thuma Mina” and door-to-door campaign.
According to a programme sent out by Mabe, Magashule was meant to address ANC supporters on Sunday and also lead door-to-door campaigns throughout the weekend.
But just hours before the Sunday event, Magashule cancelled all ANC activities in Nelson Mandela Bay.
On Sunday morning, a letter from Obakeng Moate, from the secretary-general’s office, indicated that members from the national executive committee would not be coming to the Bay and all activities for the weekend had been cancelled.
Moate’s letter read: “It is with great sadness to inform you that the deployment to the Nelson Mandela region is cancelled.
“No activities will take place. My sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused.”
The provincial executive committee dissolved the Bay regional executive commitee in October but Magashule wrote to all provincial secretaries more than two weeks ago saying provincial executive committees should desist from disbanding regional structures.
One of the reasons given for disbanding the REC was that it failed to execute mandates from the PEC.
On Sunday, Mabe downplayed any suggestions that the cancellation of the ANC elections launch programme had anything to do with the tensions over the disbanding of the regional executive committee and said there were no reasons other than that Magashule had competing commitments.
“You know weekends – there’s funerals and other issues,” Mabe said.
“There’s nothing untoward other than there were competing commitments.
“I’m sure at the most convenient time he will be returning or anyone from the leadership of the ANC will be coming back,” he said.
“There have been quite a number of activities happening throughout the country and even in other provinces.
“There was just a clash of diaries so we’ll work on that and have greater alignment.”
In October, the provincial executive committee resolved that ANC councillor Andile Lungisa should step down as a member of the Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral committee pending the outcome of his appeal against his conviction and sentence after he was found guilty of assault in April.
Magashule and his deputy, Jessie Duarte, were set to come to the Eastern Cape to meet the provincial executive to implement national executive committee decisions.
On Wednesday last week, Duarte was set to meet members of the provincial executive and the regional executive task team at the ANC’s Bay headquarters, Florence Matomela House, to discuss the disbanding of the regional structure, but ANC members and SMMEs stormed the offices and kicked those who were there for the meeting out of the building.
It is understood that Duarte and the delegation then met at a Summerstrand hotel.