The ANC in Gauteng has not handed over material related to the Johannesburg conference to the police as directed by party secretary-general Fikile Mbalula in December.
This is not in defiance. The leadership in the province says it would prefer to deal with the allegations regarding the disputed regional conference internally before involving the police.
ANC Gauteng provincial task team (PTT) spokesperson Mzi Khumalo told Sunday Times on Tuesday that they are still having talks with Mbalula about how to treat the disputes arising from the conference where Loyiso Masuku was elected chairperson, beating Dada Morero a staunch ally of Mbalula.
“The matter is on the table, but we are engaging with the office of the SG and when a final determination has been made ... the province will be in a position to pronounce. Because we have not pronounced, we have not done anything,” said Khumalo.
At the weekend the Sunday Times reported that Mbalula penned a letter at the end of December instructing the PTT to hand over all conference-related material, including ballot papers, to the police to probe alleged irregularities at the three-day conference, held in Johannesburg a few weeks earlier.
In the letter Mbalula said his directive comes after a slew of disputes and allegations received by his office since the conclusion of the conference.
The disputes, he said, include:
- the appointment and conduct of the election agency responsible for administering the electoral process at conference;
- the relationship between PTT deployee Oscar Mathafa and the presiding officer of the electoral agency;
- clarity on constitutional parameters allowing for the re-opening of a concluded regional conference process and the sanction of the electoral agency to alter outcomes outside of conference;
- allegations that the list announcement does not match the raw data;
- allegations that the list for additional REC members was altered after counting was concluded;
- the seven-day post-conference delayed alteration of outcomes to accommodate gender parity creating uncertainty and undermining the finality and credibility of conference decision;
- transparency on voting numbers. The subsequent circulated list did not include voting numbers;
- the selection of a candidate who did not meet the threshold.
“In light of the above, the PTT is directed to facilitate a process to have all ballot papers, boxes, raw data and consolidated data as well as the report from the elections agency submitted to the South African Police Service [SAPS] with immediate effect,” said Mbalula in the letter dated December 28.
We have not decided on any investigation or anything of that nature because we are still looking at the veracity of the allegations and that will tell us exactly what action to take.
— Mzi Khumalo, ANC Gauteng PTT spokesperson
“The handover to the SAPS should be in the presence of ANC security led by comrade Patrick Mathebula, ANC electoral committee and representative of the ANCVL at national level.”
But almost a month later, the Gauteng PTT has still not heeded Mbalula’s directive as they say they prefer the internal mechanisms to be exhausted first.
“We are using internal processes to deal with this matter. Of course, the internal mechanism processes will mean that all affected parties get a brief and we are still there. So all parties involved will be engaged,” said Khumalo.
Khumalo insisted they were engaging with Mbalula to first confirm the veracity of the allegations and disputes before deciding whether the police are required.
“When we have a conference, which includes matters like that, we deal with them internally and a determination will be made. If police have to be involved that determination will be made. If there is no criminality or there is no need for police to be involved that determination will be made,” said Khumalo.
“You start by looking at the veracity of the allegations and on that basis you make a determination on which way you go.”
Khumalo said the province had already instituted a process of checking whether the concerns raised from the regional conference were legitimate.
“We have not decided on any investigation or anything of that nature because we are still looking at the veracity of the allegations and that will tell us exactly what action to take,” he said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.