Masualle group merely ‘raised their concerns’
Mantashe bemoans ‘unique’ situation of conference report
THE defeated faction at the ANC’s Eastern Cape elective congress had not lodged an appeal against the outcome, but merely “raised concerns”.
This was stated yesterday by the party’s secretary-general Gwede Mantashe referring to a meeting between the ANC top six and supporters of former provincial chairman Phumulo Masualle.
He confirmed the party’s national top six officials met with Masualle, accompanied among others by the regional secretaries of Nelson Mandela Bay Themba Xathula, Amathole’s Teris Ntutu and Mfundo Bongela of Joe Gqabi.
Mantashe said the group had submitted a report highlighting issues of concern about aspects of the conference that transpired.
Mantashe lamented it was “unique” that Luthuli House had received a report from unhappy members before the national executive committee deployees had handed in their report.
“The report that comes to the head office after a provincial conference is the report of the NEC deployees.
“It is unique that before we received that report as expected, we received this other [Masualle group] report.
“We [national officials] met a group who came as a delegation to Luthuli House, led by comrade Phumulo Masualle, and they made it clear to us that they are not lodging an appeal, but raising areas of concern about the provincial conference,” he said.
Pressed on what he meant by saying the Masualle group presentation was not an appeal, Mantashe said the national officials would, after listening to the NEC deployees who oversaw the disputed conference, determine what was to be done.
The NEC deployees started their presentation at Luthuli House on Monday after the Masualle group finished with their presentation.
The deployees will appear before the top six again today in Cape Town.
He said they were meeting the deployees in Cape Town because most of them were parliamentarians.
As for former provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane and his deputy Helen Sauls-August, Mantashe said they were invited to the Cape Town meeting “because there are issues raised about the conference that are administrative in nature and they were in the secretariat office”.
Mantashe lambasted Eastern Cape leaders who spoke out about Monday’s meeting on social media.
“What they were saying on social media had nothing to do with the provincial conference but everything to do with people who are trying to develop a certain narrat he said, adding that the party was working on strengthening its social media policy.
However, he stressed the policy would never ban the use of such platforms as “that would be the most stupid policy to adopt”. —