Hidden ANC membership forms threat

Many hellbent on manipulating outcome of electoral process, Mabuyane says

BULK membership forms stuffed in cupboards or hidden in the bedrooms of people hellbent on manipulating the outcome of the ANC’s electoral processes. This is the gate-keeping cancer that has engulfed the ANC, advancing slate politics in the party, according to Eastern Cape secretary Oscar Mabuyane.

In a recent interview at the party’s provincial headquarters, Calata House, Mabuyane said it was high time the ANC opened up its membership to the public and eased up its regulations to be able to recruit more members.

This, and ensuring that those responsible for hiding the membership forms of people who had paid their fees are punished, would resolve the problem of gate-keeping, Mabuyane said.

“It’s not right. In a branch of 700 members, only 100 people [would be] audited and others are not because the one in charge is managing the space for his or her personal interests; it can’t be. It’s a problem we have,” Mabuyane said.

“I believe that if we open up the membership of the ANC, it will get more than two million members quickly. Incentivise the membership, don’t over regulate it; don’t close it off.

“The problem of gate-keeping goes with this problem of withholding. It’s those who don’t want to accept the membership of the branch.

“They continue recruiting members and you keep it with you and don’t present it to the branch as you should.

“So, when you keep it with you, you don’t bring that membership to audit.

“As I speak, we have bulk membership that is idle somewhere, in the cupboards and bedrooms of certain people keeping it for their own interests. At a point when we are going to elect councillor candidates, people bring membership forms from everywhere.

“It mushrooms from everywhere,” he said.

The ANC on Monday took a decision to postpone its provincial elective conference to the end of next month, saying there were a number of disputes over the way branch general meetings were run around the province.

The number of disputes have peaked to more than 100, while other branches have yet to hold their meetings to decide on which delegates to send to the provincial conference to represent their respective branches.

The conference was meant to be held in East London from Wednesday next week to Sunday.

Mabuyane said yesterday the disputes were being handled by deployees of the NEC and they were only set to start sifting through the complaints from Friday.

They are Bheki Cele, Jackson Mthembu, Lindiwe Zulu, Siyabonga Cwele, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Kebby Maphatsoe, Thoko Didiza, Pule Mabe, Sisi Ntombela and Mcebisi Skhwatsha.

Mabuyane said they had asked for assistance from the national bosses to ensure there were no questions around the objectivity of the process.

“We don’t want disputes to be resolved on the eve of the conference. Every dispute, concern and complaint must be sorted.”