Two PAC factions make peace, agree to come together

Moloto slams Mbinda and Mphahlele’s unity pact

TWO of the PAC’s three warring factions yesterday made peace following the party’s four-day unity conference.

The former liberation movement’s conference started on Thursday and ended yesterday as part of desperate efforts to unite the factions, whose fights have resulted in deep divisions that led to three groups with each having its own president.

Luthando Mbinda, the party’s solitary MP in the National Assembly, former Azanian People’s Liberation Army operations director Letlapa Mphahlele and the party’s former secretary-general Narius Moloto have all claimed to be legitimate presidents of the party.

Following the unity conference, Mbinda and Mphahlele have committed to work on uniting their factions ahead of the party’s national elective conference in December and the general elections next year.

The Pan Africanist Movement (PAM), which was formed as a splinter after the expulsion of the late former PAC president Clarence Makwetu, has also resolved to rejoin the mother body and is part of the joint preparatory committee which is planning for the national conference scheduled for mid-December.

Mbinda said while they remained presidents of their factions, plans were now afoot to collapse the groups and PAM into one structure.

“We agreed we must even work on ways in which we are going to have the same bank accounts and systems and put our divisions behind us.

“We were harshly criticised by the members of the party and we accept that it is because of us that the PAC is in this state.

“But we are confident that from here we will be more united and our stalwarts are happy, especially because we are going to go to next year’s elections much more united,” Mbinda said.

Moloto, however, rejected the outcome of the conference, saying it was not the gathering of the PAC, as those who attended it were expelled members and former leaders.

Mbinda said Moloto was welcome to join the united party, adding that he would not be “entertained” if he waited until after the national elective conference, where a unified leadership is expected to emerge.

“We are not going to keep the door open for him forever. We want to unite and we will not allow him to continue with this,” he said.

Last week, Moloto unsuccessfully tried to oppose the conference from taking place, saying it was not being held on behalf of the party.

Yesterday, Moloto said his faction remained the sole legitimate structure.

“There is only one PAC and we are busy planning for next year’s general elections,” he said.

Moloto said his faction would also no longer oppose the court bid by another former president of the party, Alton Mphethi, to be reinstated.

Mphethi, who was replaced by Mbinda, was expelled after he led the party to the 2014 general elections.

Mphethi has been fighting for his parliamentary seat and membership, and is returning to court this week, and Moloto said he would not contest his bid as he wanted him to win as part of a “reward” for being disciplined during his expulsion.

We will be more united and our stalwarts are happy