Zuma’s EC ANC meeting postponed

A MEETING between President Jacob Zuma and his top five ANC officials with leaders of the regions in the highly divided Eastern Cape has been postponed from today to Sunday and Monday.

The high-level delegation was supposed to meet regional leaders to highlight issues based on complaints listed in a letter submitted to the ANC headquarters at Luthuli House in Johannesburg recently.

ANC national spokesman Zizi Kodwa said yesterday the meeting was postponed due to the unavailability of some officials.

“It was just a matter of diaries and availability. The meeting was postponed on Friday last week and was moved to this coming week on Sunday and Monday,” Kodwa said.

He said the meeting would focus more on the state of the organisation in the province and to a lesser extent the disputed elective conference.

Kodwa said the Oscar Mabuyaneled provincial executive committee (PEC) remained in place.

It remains to be seen if the party will endorse this PEC or nullify the chaotic elective conference about a month ago where people had to be treated for injuries after chairs were thrown inside the conference venue.

Hundreds of delegates left the venue and did not return, but the conference continued as those left behind met the number of delegates required to form a quorum.

Last week Kodwa said the decision to send the party’s top brass to the province was taken at last Monday’s national working committee (NWC) meeting after the report from the NEC deployees was tabled.

A letter of complaint co-signed by former ANC provincial chairman Phumulo Masualle was also discussed in the meeting.

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe was quoted as saying the NEC had the authority to recognise the PEC.

While the ANC Eastern Cape leadership remains in place, it remains to be seen if the party’s national leadership will endorse it.