The ANC Veterans League in Limpopo has taken up the fight over the disputed regional conferences, calling on party’s secretary-general Fikile Mbalula to release a report investigating their legitimacy.
This comes after the Sunday Times reported in September that the ANC’s top officials “threw out” a report penned by national executive committee (NEC) member Noxolo Kiviet, about allegations of vote-rigging and related irregularities at various Limpopo regional conferences.
The disputed conferences include Peter Mokaba and Vhembe regions, two of Limpopo’s biggest and most influential.
In letters seen by Sunday Times, the veterans league has now called for the report to be released, alleging that the delays by Luthuli House have caused anxiety in the province.
In a letter dated October 2, ANCVL provincial secretary Sechaba Nkoana said during a meeting in September Mbalula assured provincial leaders the report was ready and would be tabled before the ANC national working committee.
“As the disputants on the matter, we are filled with anxiety about the inexplicable and prolonged delays in releasing the final decision of the ANC NWC on the matter. We are now gravely concerned that it is now almost a month since the secretary-general made a firm undertaking to dispose of the matters, and to date, we are still in the dark,” he said.
“We are furthermore concerned that the prolonged delay in releasing the report is creating unnecessary anxieties and uncertainties within the directly affected comrades and structures of the organisation.
“If indeed the investigative task team has completed its work and submitted its report, we request the secretary-general to expedite and prioritise the release of the report to relieve all the affected comrades and structures of uncertainty.”
Limpopo is arguably the second-biggest province of the ANC after KwaZulu-Natal. The factional battle over the two regional conferences earlier led to provincial chair Stan Mathabatha resigning from his position. Following talks with Mbalula, Mathabatha, who rivalled Gwede Mantashe for national chair in 2022, recanted his resignation letter.
Limpopo provincial secretary Reuben Madadzhe has also been accused of interfering with the two conferences by the veterans league.
In another letter dated May 26, the league accused Madadzhe of creating an untenable situation that resulted in the two regions convening questionable and illegitimate regional conferences.
Chairs were thrown around, tables turned upside down, and conference delegates were scattered all over the conference venue running for their dear lives. The bouncers were all over the venue to deal specifically with the disaffected branch delegates.
— ANC Veterans League letter
The league said some branch delegates who were duly nominated through a legitimate and quorate branch general meeting were unfairly sidelined and denied the opportunities to carry out their branch mandates during their regional conference proceedings.
The league said another glaring irregularity was the instruction by the provincial secretaries office (PSO) to the PEC deployees to Peter Mokaba region to constitute themselves as a parallel Dispute Resolution Panel to adjudicate over the parallel branches.
The league claimed this was a desperate attempt by the PSO to fast-track the resolution of the branch disputes not in compliance with the approved guidelines.
“All the branches that were affected by parallelism outrightly rejected the parallel dispute resolution panel imposed by the PSO. The branches were subsequently referred to the PDRC and NDRC, respectively.
“Unfortunately, the desperate attempts by the PSO, in particular the provincial secretary, have reduced the regional conference into the most chaotic, unruly and violent conference ever experienced in this peaceful province.
“Chairs were thrown around, tables turned upside down, and conference delegates were scattered all over the conference venue running for their dear lives. The bouncers were all over the venue to deal specifically with the disaffected branch delegates. To sum it all up, the regional conference was irregular, unconstitutional, violent and erratic and definitely brought the name of the entire ANC membership into disrepute,” the letter reads.
The Sunday Times reported that Kiviet’s report is believed to recommend that only the Peter Mokaba conference be rerun. It had not met the threshold requirement, making it null and void.
This recommendation is said to have irked the national officials who believe Kiviet and her team have overreached, as the Peter Mokaba conference was signed off by Mbalula.
Kiviet’s report apparently also recommended that Madadzhe be “reprimanded” for addressing the Peter Mokaba conference despite the event having degenerated into a game of musical chairs.
Nkoana told Sunday Times that party members were in limbo awaiting the fate of the disputed conferences. He said the league was clear that the provincial secretary was implicated.
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said: “The media must await internal organisational processes to conclude. It is only then that the task team report or its recommendations may be availed.”
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