ANC sitting delayed for 3 months
POSTPONING the ANC’s national general council (NGC) by three months in the wake of the country’s Covid-19 lockdown is “not helping” the party, which is torn apart by factionalism. Instead tensions linger longer, political analysts said.
The decision to delay the NGC was announced last week after an extended meeting of the ANC’s national working committee.
The committee resolved to halt all its major conferences and gatherings for three months to prevent the spread of the virus.
Among the gatherings affected other than the NGC was its provincial elective conference in North West and five regional conferences in KwaZulu-Natal, including the much-anticipated eThekwini regional conference.
The NGC, which was set to take place at the end of July was expected to be a battleground between the two dominant factions: the CR17 group and the Radical Economic Transformation (RET) group.
The RET faction still harbours dreams of removing ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa for allegedly failing to implement some of their 2017 policy resolutions.
Analyst Thabani Khumalo believed that while the postponement of the NGC was a disadvantage for the party, it gave the CR17 faction an edge over the RET faction.
Khumalo said while the ructions would continue to affect the party, Ramaphosa was gaining advantage with the way he handled the lockdown and when the NGC convenes, it would finish off the RET faction.
“Postponing this NGC is disadvantageous to them (RET) and an advantage for the CR17 faction. Daily, the CR17 group is gaining more power and consolidating so much that by the time the NGC sits, CR17 will have the upper hand,” Khumalo said.
ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe refused to entertain questions regarding the matter, saying the whole country was busy with the Covid-19 outbreak and the subsequent pending 21-day lockdown.
“This is not the time… All of us are focused on working with our government to find a long-lasting solution to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It is also important that during this period the media also assists in deepening the understanding on the kind of interventions available to address the pandemic, including encouraging people to comply with the restrictions,” Mabe said.