ANC branch leaders called to meetings ahead of December elective conference

HUNDREDS of ANC branch leaders from across the province were summoned to separate meetings at zonal level, where party leaders took them through procedures involved when facilitating general meetings.

This is part of the build-up to the December elective conference, where branch delegates vote on who will lead the party going forward.

The conference, known as a conference of branches, starts at branch level, where branch general meetings are convened and members “in good standing” are allowed to discuss and vote on who will lead the party. It is at these meetings where branches decide who they trust to carry the mandate as decided by the meeting.

In Dr WB Rubusana region in East London, regional leader Mthetheleli Sam said they had divided branches into zones, which saw four separate meetings held yesterday across the metro.

Branch leaders from East London met at the City Hall, while those from Duncan Village met at the Gompo Hall.

The Mdantsane zone met at the ANC’s constituency office at Highway taxi rank, while a separate meeting was held in King William’s Town.

The meetings come on the eve of a visit by ANC national officials led by President Jacob Zuma.

The meeting, which will be held on Monday, will see the officials interrogating top five officials from each region, as well as the newly elected provincial executive committee (PEC) and former PEC members, as the party tries to unite rival factions in the province.

Former PEC members led by premier Phumulo Masualle lodged complaints on how the provincial conference of three weeks ago, which elected Oscar Mabuyane as the new provincial chairman, was handled.

The East London provincial conference saw ANC members attacking each other with chairs as a result of disagreements over the credentials of those present at the conference.

But newly elected PEC member Xolani Malamlela, who attended the City Hall meeting yesterday, said: “The meetings we are having today have nothing to do with the Monday meetings.

“We are here to assist BECs [branch executive committees] understand the role they would be playing when facilitating BGMs,” Malamlela said.