ANC Women’s League names leaders of new EC task team

Social development MEC Siphokazi Lusithi has been appointed as the co-ordinator of the new provincial ANC Women’s League task team.

She takes over from Nolitha Ntobongwana who is also a former Eastern Cape provincial secretary of the league.

The Women’s League has officially announced leaders of provincial task teams around the country following a meeting of its National Task Team on Friday.

It features Bukiwe Fanta as convener, a position she previously held.

Rural development & agrarian reform MEC Nonkqubela Pieters is a fundraiser for the task team.

The league said it would announce other members of the 25-member task team at a later stage.

In a statement by national coordinator, Maropene Ramokgopa, the league said it had held a special national task team meeting on Friday to receive and adopt reports on the appointment of task teams in eight provinces.

“This follows rigorous consultation to ensure that all our PTTS cover the demographics of their province, inclusivity and young women representation, and continuity among many other principles the NTT considered,” Ramokgopa said.

She said the league would communicate terms of reference to the different task teams but their key task was to ensure that regional and provincial conferences sat to elect new leadership.

ANCWL spokesperson Meokgo Matuba said they had to appoint a new task team for the Eastern Cape because the previous one’s term had lapsed.

“Organisationally, you have a period of four years for the provincial executive committees. When the time has lapsed, because you don’t have any constitutional provision in terms of extending the term of office, you appoint a task team.

“This task team takes a period of nine months.

“If it’s beyond nine months, then their mandate has ended. Then you will need to renew the mandate.”

She could not say if there were targets set for the province to sit for a conference before the end of the year.

“For you to be able to make that determination, you must adopt the road map ... if you are to build a structure or rebuild a structure, you give them up to nine months. Nine months is the maximum.”

Matuba said the province was, however, not required to hold its conference before the mother body.

Currently, the ANCWL is headed by an NTT, which is led by former speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, as its convener.

It too has been given nine months to hold an elective conference.

Organisationally, you have a period of four years for the provincial executive committees