Johannesburg - Some members of the ANC in the Free State have threatened to take legal action against the party’s interim provincial committee (IPC) due to the tardiness of branches to hold their branch biennial general meetings (BBGMs) before their provincial conference.
The members, who complained that only 16 out of 51 branches had held their BBGMs, said they would approach the court to find the IPC in contempt for failing to implement its order to hold the conference at the end of this month.
About 35 branches are yet to convene their BBGMs. Last month, the Free State High Court ruled that the ANC in Free State should hold its provincial conference by the end of the month. Members said the delay could lead to the conference being postponed, and result in their non-participation in the national conference in December.
ANC Radical Economic Transformation (RET) spokesperson Mduduzi Nkambule said there were rumours that the conference might be postponed. The conference planning committee had not been appointed.
“If the conference is postponed that means the IPC is in contempt of court. Remember there is a judgment that is demanding that the ANC Free State must go to the conference at the end of September,” Nkambule said.
He claimed that the IPC members were dragging their feet because they wanted to protect their positions.
“All these IPC and IRC (interim regional committee) are focusing on deployment other than taking branches to BBGMs. They are delaying so they can continue to eat.”
ANC branch member in Dr Pedro, Fannie Lelimo, said the IPC and IRC were delaying the process because they did not have enough support from the branches. Lelimo said this delaying of the conference was their strategy to hold onto power.
“They are also causing confusion deliberately by appointing parallel (interim branch committees) in all the wards, going against decisions of the highest structure which is the national executive committee (NEC). What is also delaying the process is some within the headquarters because when branches have submitted their roadmap, on the day of the BBGMs we will be told … excuses that there is a power failure and all sorts of things,” Lelimo said.
Lelimo said: “We have been clear from the onset that there is a court order of July 8, which endorsed that there shall be a provincial conference by or on September 30. Failure to adhere to that call obviously … will be inviting another court application in contempt of court.
“I can tell you now that knowing these IPC leaders, they won’t abide by it and we will go ahead so that the court can find them in contempt and that will have bad repercussions against them.”
ANC Youth League chairperson Thapelo Manyakalle also said his branch, Elizabeth Funeka, was also yet to go to the BBGM.
“The IRC and IPC are delaying the process by establishing the working task teams (WTTs) even in the branches where there is an existing elected branch committee.”
Steve Bogacu branch secretary Senki Dipholo said delays in his region were because of the failure of the newly appointed interim branch committee (IBC) to co-ordinate meetings and exclude the branch executive committee (BEC) in said meetings – which was legitimate.“[BEC] replaced by this IBC, which has non-members leading membership and has not been recognised by members as they had just been imposed in the branch,” Dipholo said.
In June, members of the party approached the Free State High Court over the slow pace of conference preparations against IPC. The group sought the court’s intervention in the party’s failure and its neglect to take necessary steps for new leadership to be elected in branches, regions, and the province.
In August, the high court ruled that the conference should be held by end of September. IPC spokesperson Oupa Khoabane said branches were delayed by the membership system, which struggled to provide codes for them to access loading members during the meeting.
“Branches will be going to their BBGMs this weekend, once they give notification of their planned meetings. It is only after the events of the coming weekend that we will determine the next course of action,” Khobane said.