By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Former African National Congress Womens League (ANCWL) president Bathabile Dlamini is cleared to try again when the structure convenes its national conference next month.
The ANCWL NTT held a media briefing on Thursday on the outcomes of its meeting ahead of its 13th national conference.
The National Task Team (NTT) of the ANCWL was appointed in June 2022 following the decision of the ANC to disband the ANCWL NEC.
The primary mandate of the NTT was to put structures of the ANCWL in place from branch to national level and to prepare for the 13th National Conference within 12 months.
The 13th National Conference of the ANCWL will be held on 17-19 June 2023 at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.
According to the ANCWL NTT, the conference will have 2,980 branches participating from across the country. Each branch will be allocated one delegate for every 50 members in good standing and one extra delegate for each additional 100 members.
Dlamini and the Women’s League made headlines last year after she was appointed as a member of the NTT, despite her perjury case.
The former social development minister was last April slapped with a suspended jail sentence and a fine in her perjury case.
She was found guilty of perjury for lying under oath at an inquiry, which had investigated her role in the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) 2017 crisis.
However, it appears all is well after task team member Pinky Kekana said on Thursday nothing disqualified Dlamini from participating in all activities of the party.
“Comrade Bathabile Dlamini, like any other member of the ANC, has every right to participate in structures of the ANC. And we’re not isolating her,” said Kekana during a media briefing.
“The ANC processed all the things around Bathabile and the fact that she is sitting in the NEC of the ANC … remember, you are first a member of the ANC before you are a member of the ANCWL. Branches of the ANC WL are aligned to the processes of vetting and who must participate as a member in good standing of the ANC.”
Meanwhile President Cyril Ramaphosa is meeting the KZN regional leaders following the announcement of a section 154 intervention in the only metro in the province led by the ANC. Section 154 of the Constitution allows national and provincial governments to use legislative and other measures to support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities to manage their own affairs and perform their functions.
The problems in KwaZulu-Natal come as the ANC faces its toughest election yet in 2024, with its support in the province slipping away.
The party’s deputy secretary general Maropene Ramokgopa, who is also the minister charged with monitoring and evaluation, met eThekwini traditional, business and religious leaders on Friday, according to the ANC’s itinerary.
On the same day, the ANC’s deputy president, Paul Mashatile, had discussions with the same leaders in the northern KwaZulu-Natal Mzala Nxumalo region.
Ramaphosa will arrive on Saturday in Durban where he will meet the regional chairperson, Musa Nciki. The NWC and the president will then meet branch, alliance and regional leaders on the state of the organisation.
Shortly after, the president will have closed meetings with the ANC council caucus, the troikas (council’s speaker, mayor and chief whip), where they will be held to account on service delivery, the state of water, roads and electricity provision and major projects infrastructure development.
The Kwazulu/Natal ANC leadership is facing possible disbandment after reports of governance issues and political turmoil. In its assessment, the NWC will make a call on whether it would be prudent to disband the leadership or opt for a less drastic intervention.