Candidates tell ANC: ‘Pick us or face revolt’

DESPERATE aspirant ward councillors are threatening to dump the ANC and turn communities against the party should they not be selected.

ANC leaders revealed this week that they were being blackmailed by members to be appointed, failing which they would influence communities to revolt against the party.

Secretary-general Gwede Mantashe is among the ANC leaders to whom such an ultimatum has been delivered.

Mantashe told journalists on the sidelines of the party’s national list conference on Friday that such SMSes showed the level of individualism among aspirant councillors.

“Many problems have everything to do with individuals who want to be councillors willy-nilly. [They say] it must be me or nobody else,” he said.

Candidate selection has been marred by high levels of desperation, which has seen internal disputes costing the party more than the opposition, according to the ANC’s own reading of the situation.

The party is dealing with the consequences of gatekeepers who invalidate democratic processes if they are not selected as ward councillors.

“That is what we deal with every day because when individuals want to be councillors they go and mobilise communities, and can do anything,” said Mantashe.

He did not elaborate, but another national executive committee leader said a wave of recent violent protests was fuelled by intraparty disputes.

The ANC spent most of the weekend finalising the lists of ward and public representative councillors for the upcoming local government elections.

The party has to compile a list of about 9 700 ward and public representative councillors for all municipalities.

Mantashe said he was receiving SMSes from hopefuls who threatened to leave the ANC if they were not selected.

Others have threatened to migrate to other wards with their supporters so that the party fails to garner enough votes.

ANC provincial secretaries are also dealing with similar situations, with some branch leaders at odds with councillors selected through a community participation process.

The lists, according to an ANC resolution, must have 50/50 gender parity, must comprise 20% of youth, and 60% of the candidates should be serving councillors.

The ANC has postponed discussions about its mayoral hopefuls until the councillor lists are finalised, disputes dealt with, candidates vetted, and the registration of councillors has been concluded.

In terms of picking mayoral hopefuls, ANC structures have had to grapple with balancing loyalty to party cadres and candidates who have mass appeal in communities.

Mantashe said that a special national executive committee would be called to deal with selecting mayors.

In the interim, mayoral candidate selection has been hampered by disputes over the redemarcation of municipal boundaries, which has resulted in some ANC regional leaders losing their mayorships in the aftermath of municipal mergers.

In Mpumalanga and Limpopo, which have proved to be contentious, the ANC has failed to field candidates in newly configured municipalities because of these disputes.