ANC ‘partners’ support call for early conference

THE ANC should think long and hard about convening an early conference to elect its new leadership as it could entrench disunity within the tripartite alliance and result in winners inheriting a “shell organisation”.

Rather, the conference should be a consultative one aimed at unifying the alliance and reach agreement, “if possible, on the transition to a new leadership”.

The stern warning and suggestion came from the SACP leadership yesterday, following its central committee meeting in Joburg at the weekend. It noted the ANC Youth League’s call for an early elective conference and dismissed it as “entirely factional”. ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe has reportedly said the early conference call was not a bad idea and was currently being discussed.

The SACP said it wanted the consultative conference to be addressed by “senior and respected veterans of our movement”, as they wanted to listen to those whose criticism was motivated by a “genuine concern about the future of our movement and our country”, and not by their personal hatred of the ANC.

The Youth League made the call for an early elective conference following the ANC’s poor showing on the August 3 municipal election.

The SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) made the same call yesterday.

“Areas of discontent that our communities have raised and those that influenced them not to vote for the ANC during the local government elections must be confronted and resolved without further delay,” Sanco general secretary Skhumbuzo Mpanza said.

He was announcing key resolutions adopted at the national executive committee (NEC) meeting held over two days at St George’s Hotel outside Pretoria.

“Our frank and robust analysis of the local government elections results has informed us that the masses of our people have spoken. If the ANC is out of power it is communities of South Africa, especially the poor, who will bear the brunt of policies that are not pro-poor.”

After protracted deliberations the NEC acknowledged it was the task of the democratic structures of the ANC to decide on the need for their organisation’s early conference.

The NEC cautioned that public spats between Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and the Hawks were not in the interests of the country’s economic recovery plan.