Free State’s ANC leaders seek to put off conference

The ANC’s interim Free State leadership is seeking to postpone the province’s elective conference to September as infighting stymied the convening of branch and regional meetings and the election of leaders.

Factional battles are between loyalists of suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule and the interim political committee (IPC), led by Free State co-operative governance MEC Mxolisi Dukwana and IPC coordinator Paseka Nompondo.

But Luthuli House has called for all such conferences to be held before the ANC policy conference at the end of July.

North West province, also operating under interim leadership, recently postponed its provincial conference to August.

Gwen Ramokgopa, ANC coordinator in the office of the secretary-general, told Business Day a decision on the request for a postponement was likely at this weekend’s meeting of the national executive committee.

Disruptions in the Free State and North West would have no bearing on their status at the ANC’s national policy conference, Ramokgopa said. The national conference allows branches in good standing to be represented, regardless of whether provincial conferences have been convened, she said.

Traditionally, policy conferences are used as proxy battles in leadership contests.

“Even though some provinces have not gone to conference, we are unlikely to postpone the policy conference or the national conference [in December],” Ramokgopa said.

The Free State IPC is also preparing to oppose a court application by disgruntled Mangaung region ANC members to dissolve the IPC, citing lack of progress in convening conferences and saying that its term of office has expired. Spokesperson Oupa Khoabane said the IPC has been verifying members in preparation for the conference, and wanted to avoid excluding some members unfairly.

“The auditor-general has raised the issue of leadership as a problem, we have started with turning around political leadership by ensuring that we appoint people with capacity, as much as possible, at municipalities,” said Khoabane.