ANC reaffirms policy preventing Lungisa’s move
ANC SECRETARY-general Gwede Mantashe had the proverbial last laugh when party councillor Andile Lungisa stepped down as regional chairperson of Nelson Mandela Bay.
Lungisa wants to be elected as the new provincial secretary when the Eastern Cape goes to its elective conference later this year.
Mantashe and Lungisa had been at each other’s throats over an ANC rule prohibiting those serving in higher structures from running for positions in lower organs of the party.
Yesterday, Mantashe said the national executive committee meeting in Irene, Tshwane, at the weekend cautioned NEC members against being part of and fuelling divisions in provinces and regions.
“This includes failure to correctly interpret and clarify ANC policies and decisions. In this regard, the NEC reaffirmed its position that nobody elected to a structure of the ANC may contest for positions in a lower structure. This is a principled decision of the NEC which was reaffirmed by the NEC meeting,” he said.
ANC Eastern Cape secretary Oscar Mabuyane said the provincial branch welcomed Lungisa’s resignation and stressed that the matter was not personal.
“We regret all that has happened. It was unwarranted and negative in the public domain. But there’s nothing personal here. It was a question of what is right, what is wrong, so the matter has been affirmed by the NEC,” he said.
When contacted for comment, Lungisa referred The Star to a statement issued by regional secretary Themba Xathula in which he stated that deputy regional chairperson Phumzile Tshuni would act in Lungisa’s position until a new chairperson was elected.
It seems Lungisa won’t have sleepless nights over his resignation from the influential position as he has set his sights on becoming the ANC provincial secretary when the Eastern Cape goes to its elective conference in the second half of the year. “As the REC (regional executive committee), we have taken a conscious decision to support Lungisa for the position of provincial secretary in the provincial conference of the Eastern Cape in July. We will allow the organisational structures to endorse the decision. We are not dictating to them but guiding them,” said Xathula.
At the elective conference, Mabuyane will reportedly contest the provincial chairperson position that is currently held by Eastern Cape Premier Phumulo Masualle.