ANC NEC divided over court decision – analysts

THE defiance shown by the leaders of the ANC regions and leagues in KwaZulu-Natal shows they believe the province has strong enough support within the party’s national executive committee (NEC), analysts have said.

Political analyst Professor Somadoda Fikeni said it was clear from the reaction of the ANC leaders in KZN that they realise that the stakes are very high if the judgment stays unchallenged.

“They realise that their power is threatened, but they know that the NEC is divided and therefore will not act as a united force.”

Fikeni said because of the looming national conference of the ANC, conspiracy theories are abound and any action taken by the NEC is seen in factional and conspiratorial terms.

Professor Mcebisi Ndletyana said some of the ANC leaders were defiant as they felt that they had the support of some of the members of the NEC. The fact that the NEC had itself investigated some of the alleged conference improprieties but had never issued any report on this may suggest that some members of the ANC were “beneficiaries” of this impropriety.

He likened the defiance to that shown by Andile Lungisa who earlier this year defied the party and contested successfully the chairmanship of the Nelson Mandela Bay region.

Lungisa contested the position despite the ANC constitution prohibiting him from doing so by virtue of him holding a position in a higher structure. “He defied the SG (secretary-general) but the president showed up to congratulate him on his election which happened in blatant violation of ANC policies. It was clear that Andile felt emboldened by the president.” Lungisa’s election was later nullified.

Ndletyana said the NEC is the absolute authority and that no decision can go through without the approval of the structure.

Asked about the way forward, Ndletyana said the NEC may do what was done to the provincial executive committee (PEC) of the Free State after a similar challenge in court. The PEC was nullified and an interim leadership structure was put in place and the branches were allowed to participate in the national conference.

Fikeni said he believed the NEC may opt for a negotiated settlement between the two factions but warned that this will not work if such a settlement is arranged by the warring factions.

Cosatu in KwaZulu-Natal said it was not excited to see matters of the ANC playing themselves out in court.

“We are yet to make a concrete assessment as Cosatu, but we cannot say that we are excited,” said Cosatu provincial secretary Edwin Mkhize.