ANC Limpopo provincial chair Stan Mathabatha’s decision to “step aside”, which has been viewed as a resignation, has raised the ire of his provincial executive committee [PEC] colleagues who are concerned about the implications of such a move so close to the local government elections.
Mathabatha on Monday wrote a letter to national officials informing them he had taken a decision to vacate his position as ANC provincial chair as he was unhappy with how the Vhembe and Waterberg regional conferences were run.
These are the two conferences which led to some leaders at Luthuli House being accused of meddling and vote rigging, especially in Vhembe, where ANC national executive committee (NEC) members have since raised concerns.
After the conference and one in Peter Mokaba the ANC put together a team led by NEC member Noxolo Kiviet to investigate allegations of vote rigging and related irregularities.
The aggrieved parties have alleged votes were being rigged in the regional conferences in favour of premier Phophi Ramathuba, who is expected to go toe-to-toe with Peter Mokaba regional chairperson John Mpe to succeed Mathabatha as provincial chair.
ANC Limpopo spokesperson Jimmy Machaka said Mathabatha’s decision creates uncertainty in the province.
“It’s problematic because it does not fall within the ambit of the step-aside policy. You can only step aside if you are criminally charged, or if you are expelled from the organisation you must relinquish your responsibilities, or when you are ordered by the integrity commission. None of the reasons advanced fall within those categories. That is why guidance from national on the matter will be of great importance,” Machaka said.
You could have said you have issues with regional conferences, and behind closed doors we specify which they are and what is the basis for contention
— ANC Limpopo leaders
PEC leaders who spoke to TimesLIVE Premium said Mathabatha should have exhausted internal processes before going public.
“You don’t single out conferences because the implications you are going to create are that ‘you don’t have a problem with problems of other regions, you only have a problem when it’s these ones’. You could have said you have issues with regional conferences, and behind closed doors we specify which they are and what is the basis for contention,” said one provincial leader.
Another provincial leader said: “He’s only citing the Vhembe and Waterberg conferences, so he’s very selective because he’s saying he wants to preserve his integrity. When he addressed a regional conference in Peter Mokaba, there was an exchange of chairs and the conference was convened without a threshold. At the two conferences he’s citing, there was no exchange of chairs. The two conferences reached the threshold.”
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has summoned Limpopo's top officials to an urgent meeting at Luthuli House this week after the bombshell dropped by Mathabatha.
In his letter to the Limpopo provincial office bearers, which TimesLIVE Premium has seen, Mbalula said he wanted them to immediately address Mathabatha’s decision.
“We are in receipt of a letter, which has also gone viral, suggesting the ANC provincial chair, comrade Stan Mathabatha, has resolved to take a step-aside from ANC leadership roles and activities, on account of his dissatisfaction about the conferences processes in Limpopo,” Mbalula wrote in a letter dated September 2.
“I therefore kindly invite the ANC office bearers in Limpopo to an urgent meeting with the secretary-general over these issues on September 3.”
“I would like to formally inform the national executive committee of my decision to step aside as chairperson of the ANC in Limpopo, effective immediately,” Mathabatha said in his letter dated September 1.
“The decision is motivated by the concerning misconduct and lack of ANC values I have observed within the organisation in the province, particularly in relation to the processes towards and conduct within the conferences of the Vhembe and Waterberg regions.”
Mathabatha said, for his reputation, he could not pretend he could not see what was happening in the conferences.
“To uphold my reputation and integrity, I cannot stand aloof to such unethical and un-ANC tendencies occurring under my leadership,” he said.
“I always stand available to deliberate the issues further with the national office bearers of the ANC at their convenience and make myself available for interviews. Until then, I will step aside to allow the organisation to function without my involvement.”
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said the party was dismayed the correspondence surfaced on social media before internal party protocols were observed.
“We reiterate that proper organisational procedures must always be followed, and internal discipline respected, as guided by the constitution of the ANC,” she said.
Machaka said Mathabatha should have explored the dispute resolution mechanism before stepping aside. He said Mathabatha had not raised his displeasure concerning conferences during PEC meetings.
He said: “He can't complain about Waterberg because we have not yet received a report. Waterberg only concluded its business yesterday. We are awaiting a PEC deployee's report on what transpired at the conference..
“With regards to Vhembe, it can't be that at this stage he cries foul about the regional conference because he is fully aware that Vhembe, Peter Mokaba and Norman Mashabane investigated the matters. There is a completed report. It shouldn't be an issue that is raised when the organisation is attending to these matters.”
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