The ANC’s national leaders have finally weighed in on the disbandment of the Nelson Mandela Bay structure, saying they welcome the decision.
The party’s national working committee (NWC) has also noted the call for Andile Lungisa to step down from the Bay mayoral committee and remain an ordinary councillor while he appeals in court against his conviction and sentence for assault.
On Tuesday, ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe said the NWC urged the Eastern Cape provincial executive committee to establish an all-inclusive regional task team.
The NWC further noted the implementation of the national executive committee (NEC) decision directing Lungisa to resign as a member of the mayoral committee, Mabe said.
Meanwhile, branch secretaries and chairs in the metro were locked out of the regional headquarters on Tuesday.
They had gathered at Florence Matomela House for a meeting called by former regional secretary Themba Xathula.
Ward 13 branch secretary Samuel Davids said there would be no election work in the Bay until the NEC came to address them.
“This PEC received its power through thuggery and anarchy. They came and removed a constitutionally elected structure and [replaced it] with people who have a history in the Pikoli forensic report, IPTS forensic report and Kabuso forensic report,” Davids said.
“We will not allow it [because] we voted them out.”
The regional task team, which is running the ANC in the metro in the interim, is led by former regional chair and ex-mayor Nceba Faku, along with some former members of the REC that was disbanded in 2015 by then ANC president Jacob Zuma.
Ward 20 chair Khontolo Mataka said Faku should step aside and give young people a chance to lead.
Addressing the crowd, Xathula said he was awaiting official communication from the national bosses regarding the outcome of their appeal.
“People are in a hurry to remove us, because we’ve done a miracle here to topple [the DAled coalition in] this municipality,” Xathula said.
“The dirty, underground [work] . . . not a single member of the PEC was here and now that we’ve yielded positive results people are coming without any acknowledgement of the [regional executive committee] in relation to the serious battle we’ve fought here.”
Faku said he would advise people to follow internal ANC processes if they had problems.
He said all parties had their own processes, including for when people wanted to level allegations against members.
“We’re talking about faceless people here and they must follow processes to give the organisation a chance to respond.”