ANC’s healing political pilgrimage

THE ANC in the Eastern Cape will embark on a political pilgrimage in the hope of healing divisions within the party, before it launches its election campaign in June.

ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi said this was part of the national programme which saw President Cyril Ramaphosa leading officials on visits to graves of ANC founders such as Dr Walter Rubusana in East London, visiting King Goodwill Zwelithini in KwaZulu-Natal and AmaXhosa King Mpendulo Zwelonke Sigcawu in Nqadu earlier this year.

The programme also saw the top six making a courtesy visit to struggle stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in January.

Ngcukayitobi said the decision to embark on a similar pilgrimage programme had been reached at Monday’s provincial executive committee meeting.

“We agreed on the necessity for the organisation at provincial level to be healed,” he said.

“It is not only in the Eastern Cape that the ANC is undergoing a healing process, that healing forms a critical component of the renewal of the ANC.”

Ngcukayitobi said the pilgrimage would also ensure that the PEC was capable of working with all the regions that had been working against the provincial programme, following the deep divisions within the party after the October elective conference.