KZN ANC ‘ready for conference’ – Ace

‘Branches that had issues were allowed to state those issues’

KWAZULU-Natal is ready to hold its much anticipated provincial conference soon, says ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule. He was addressing the media in Durban yesterday after the meeting of the party’s national working committee (NWC), which President Cyril Ramaphosa attended, at Coastlands Hotel, South Beach.

Magashule said most regions in the province were ready for the conference. “We all agree throughout the regions that we are ready for the regional and provincial conferences.

“In eThekwini the president engaged branches, and out of 110 branches there were 17 that had issues, and they were allowed to state those issues, which were then addressed,” he said.

Ramaphosa spent the whole of Sunday engaging with hostile eThekwini branches .

Magashule said the provincial interim and NWC had engaged with all ANC structure throughout the province, including party members unhappy with the processes leading to provincial and regional conferences.

“We allowed them into the meetings to engage. Today we came and engaged with a provincial interim committee which has been converted to a provincial task team.”

Magashule said the NEC members deployed to the province beset by factionalism were assisting the provincial leadership to deal with all issues of gatekeeping.

“Gatekeeping is no longer a big issue, because we have said any member who feels aggrieved, doesn’t appear in the register or complains of gatekeeping must approach the leadership, and they have been dealing with these issues case by case.”

Magashule said the meeting condemned the acts of violence experienced in Moses Mabhida region where he had met with branches on Sunday, and another in the same region two weeks ago, where bodyguards drew firearms to prevent disgruntled members from storming a meeting in Howick, outside Pietermaritzburg.

“In Moses Mabhida, there were people who were outside protesting. We allowed more than 250 of those people to come in and they were allowed to participate and engage.

“Together with the structures, everybody was happy with the way we handled ANC issues, because everybody was allowed to express themselves, and we came out of the meeting very happy,” he said.

“We believe that we need to educate politically. As the president has said, there is hunger for thorough political discussions; this is not the end of the NWC visit,” he said.

NWC member Senzo Mchunu, who attended yesterday’s meeting, sang a different tune from his supporters, who have expressed opposition to the conference being held before general elections.

He said he was happy with the outcome of the meeting.

“We have visited all the regions. Divisions have been discussed.

“No one has said the provincial conference should not be held. It never happened.

“People who were protesting in Pietermaritzburg (on Sunday) and others are not saying the conference should not be held before elections.

“If you had spoken to an individual, that was a view of that person,” he said.