The fight to control the ANC in the Eastern Cape played out over the weekend as factions emerged during visits to the home of late Bantu Church of Christ Bishop John Bolana in Gqeberha, further setting the stage for a high-stakes battle at the upcoming elective conference.
ANC Eastern Cape chair Oscar Mabuyane and provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi arrived at the Bolana family home at different times, each accompanied by their own contingent of senior ANC allies.
The conference is scheduled to start on March 27.
Ngcukayitobi is set to face off against former ally and premier Mabuyane, who is anticipated to run for a third term as provincial chair.
With the succession battle intensifying ahead of the provincial conference, Ngcukayitobi said on the sidelines of his Friday visit that he was willing to serve as provincial chair should the branches call on him.
The provincial chair position traditionally produces the province’s premier.
“Branch general meetings [BGMs] have not yet started, but if nominated and they come and ask, I would say I’m available if the branches of the ANC wish so,” Ngcukayitobi said.
On Friday, Ngcukayitobi was flanked by former ANC provincial chair and premier Phumulo Masualle and ANC MPL Mlibo Qoboshiyane.
Both have, for years, opposed Mabuyane ahead of elective conferences.
Mabuyane, meanwhile, visited with ANC deputy provincial secretary Helen Sauls-August, who is also the speaker of the provincial legislature, Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe and regional secretary Siphiwo Tshaka.
As the countdown to the provincial conference continues, of the ANC’s eight regions, Amathole and Sarah Baartman have yet to hold their regional conferences.
The Sarah Baartman conference was abandoned on Friday after delegates failed to adopt credentials.
Ngcukayitobi comes from OR Tambo, the party’s largest region with 147 branches, while Mabuyane hails from Chris Hani, which has 110 branches.
Collectively, the ANC’s 710 branches are spread across Nelson Mandela Bay (60), Amathole (121), Alfred Nzo (106), Joe Gqabi (45), Buffalo City Metro (50), Sarah Baartman (71), OR Tambo 147 and Chris Hani 110.
Over the past week, a series of developments has shifted the terrain ahead of the provincial conference.
Chris Hani District Municipality mayor and ANC regional chair Lusanda Sizani was asked to step aside after the provincial integrity commission instructed him to vacate all leadership positions pending the finalisation of a criminal case after his personal gun went missing.
Sizani had been widely tipped as Mabuyane’s preferred candidate for provincial secretary and as a possible replacement for Ngcukayitobi.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, former regional secretary Luyolo Nqakula was acquitted of charges linked to a R24m toilet tender.
Nqakula has been touted as a contender for a top-five position at the provincial conference, and is a known supporter of Ngcukayitobi.
He was previously barred from contesting the regional chair post under the step-aside rule.
Meanwhile, Mabuyane’s ally and regional chair, Lobishe, is facing mounting political pressure over her role in the municipality’s decision to lease a transformer to a private company.
Ngcukayitobi, when asked about the new ideas he would bring to the party, said innovation within the ANC was a collective process.
“Ideas in the ANC are collective ideas that are generated through the conferencing process and policy-making process,” he said.
“It’s obvious that the ANC is a big, broad organisation that has got many policies, and I’m certain that next year we’ll start with a policy conference come July 2027.
“But it’s obvious there are things that need to be changed around the issue that relates to crime.
“Some things should be done.
“There are many policies around the very same foundations of how the ANC functions and how it is structured and how its leaders are selected and how people join the ANC ... and those things are part of the foundations for what constitute the renewal and rejuvenation of the organisation.”
In 2024, shortly after the ANC entered a government of national unity with parties including the DA and FF+, Ngcukayitobi submitted his resignation as provincial secretary but was persuaded to stay.
Ngcukayitobi said the ANC was part of coalitions in several Eastern Cape municipalities.
He said these were borne of shared values and like-minded constituencies committed to societal transformation.
“These coalitions are about common ideas about how to change society, how to transform society.
“But for those that you will be able to sleep with, you sleep with because you are like-minded and, therefore, that is what should constitute the ideal coalition.
“When you are going to work with a person, it’s because there are commonalities among yourselves.
“You can’t work with a person who is anti-transformation.”
He said the partnerships at a local level did not translate to a national level.
Ngcukayitobi said the ANC could not collaborate with individuals or groups that opposed transformation or sought to undo progress in critical areas such as black economic empowerment, education or the new health insurance scheme.
“The ANC throughout SA, in Gauteng and even here in Nelson Mandela Bay, we are in coalition with the like-minded.
“Whatever is happening at the grassroots level, unfortunately, it’s not finding expression at a national level.
“That’s why there are going to be so many contradictions around the policies.”
Inside the Bolana home, Mabuyane told regional members there was much to learn from the church on how it handled succession, commending the smooth transition of the new church leadership.
“It’s always difficult to balance absolute democracy with centralism. The church applies the principle of democratic centralism.
“When there is cohesion, it’s easier to work together for our people.”
On Sunday, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula visited the bishop’s home, reflecting on lessons from the church.
“We’re not going to wake up to someone we don’t know, someone unfamiliar with the culture of the church, and suddenly call them a leader,” he said.
“The new bishop is someone we know.
“He has always been there, welcoming us.
“There are no surprises. There are no newcomers here.
“This is not a free-for-all.
“No party can do as it pleases and assume everything is up for grabs.”
He said that at the church, the pecking order was clear and conflicts were minimal.
“Everyone knows their place,” Mbalula said.
“They don’t clash, and it’s clear who speaks on which matters.
“They don’t fight over positions because the hierarchy is understood.
“If this were the ANC, perhaps we’d be butting heads over who gets to lead, because everyone wants a piece.”
The Herald
