Gauteng ANC leadership confident of elective conference attendance

ANC Gauteng provincial secretary Jacob Khawe. Picture: African News Agency (ANA)

ANC Gauteng provincial secretary Jacob Khawe. Picture: African News Agency (ANA)

Published Jun 23, 2022

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Pretoria - The Gauteng ANC leadership has vowed that delegates from its five regions would be part of the elective conference starting today in Benoni despite a court application challenging the outcome of the Sedibeng regional elective conference.

Yesterday, provincial secretary Jacob Khawe made it abundantly clear that the Sedibeng regional executive committee, which was elected last month would be part of the provincial elective conference at the Lakes Hotel in Benoni today until Sunday.

Khawe made no reference to the court application lodged at the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in which more than 25 branches were challenging the credibility of the regional conference which was also held at the same Lakes Hotel on May 27 until 29.

In the court application, the main applicant, Morena Mokubung, is asking the high court to nullify the Sedibeng regional conference outcome.

Mokubung also wants the provincial elective conference, if it goes ahead this weekend, to exclude Sedibeng delegates.

The ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) was also cited in the court application, particularly its National Dispute Resolution Committee under former deputy minister Mduduzi Manana.

In the 241-page indictment, Mokubung and his co-applicants furnished the court with the ANC’s guidelines on measures to be taken for a branch biennial general meeting, regional, provincial and national elective conferences.

They argued that several guidelines were breached ahead of the Sedibeng regional conference.

They also argued that people without mandates from their branches participated as delegates at the same time.

But yesterday, Khawe and his top leadership had none of it.

“The Sedibeng regional conference was attended by 55 branches and 301 delegates.

“It was the only regional conference whose top leadership was elected unopposed. The Sedibeng region is on the right path to build the organisation,” Khawe said.

He also admitted that the West Rand’s acting regional executive, including some of the branches that had their branch biennial general meetings (BBGMs) and elected delegates, would be allowed to attend the conference.

The region failed to reach a threshold of 70 percent to hold a regional conference. Khawe said the ANC’ provincial dispute resolution committee was still dealing with some of the disputes lodged by several branches of the West Rand and Tshwane.

However, he remained hopeful that those would be resolved before the provincial elective conference kicked off. About the Ekurhuleni disputes – which saw 19 votes quarantined – Khawe said that matter was still being handled by the ANC NEC for a final decision on it.

According to Khawe, a total number of 1 133 voting delegates would elect the new Gauteng ANC chairperson between incumbent deputy chairperson Panyaza Lesufi and PEC member Lebogang Maile.

Current Gauteng chairperson David Makhura is not standing for re-election but has, on several occasions declined to comment on who is his preferred successor.

Later, however, Khawe did not respond to a written request to express his provincial executive committee’s decision on the court application.

Independent Media wanted to find out if the party would defend the court application.

They have until tomorrow to file papers of intention to defend the application.

Pretoria News