ANC ready for December gig

More than 90% of ANC branch general meetings (BGMs) have been held successfully ahead of the party’s December elective conference, party secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, pictured, said yesterday.

Despite a deadline extension to accommodate possible disputes, the Northern Cape was the only province that had completed its BGMs.

“Up until yesterday [Tuesday], the Eastern Cape was left with 69 BGMs, Free State was at 29, Gauteng at 41, KwaZulu-Natal 122, Mpumalanga three, North West 40, and the Western Cape was at 48,” Mantashe told reporters in Johannesburg.

The BGMs have been marred by disputes, worsened by court cases by disgruntled members calling for the outcome of at least three provincial conferences to be nullified.

Mantashe said provincial general councils would be held by the weekend to consolidate branch leadership nominations.

With completed BGMs having already achieved more than the 70% required threshold to hold the elective conference, it is clear the ANC is ready , he said. “We still want to get all branches to the conference… we want all 100 percent of them there. We are ready.”

KwaZulu-Natal, the ANC’s biggest province, has 806 branches.

The province is split between the two main presidential hopefuls, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The ANC’s 54th conference, where President Jacob Zuma’s successor will be elected, will be held at Nasrec, Johannesburg, between December 16 and 20. –ANA