By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The ANC Gauteng Provincial Conference in Benoni is currently underway despite an urgent court application issued against the ANC by one of its members Jabulani Derrick Sithole.
Sithole applied to the Johannesburg Regional Court to have the conference halted due to the 19 quarantined votes from branches in Ekurhuleni.
The conference has failed to progress beyond a few closed sessions as conference was forced to hold a special meeting in order to discuss the urgent court application by Sithole.
“My branch falls within the province of Gauteng, and as such, I participate in the affairs of the ANC throughout Gauteng….I am an applicant in these proceedings.I bring this application in my capacity as a member of this organisation in good standing. I do so in my right as a member of the ANC to demand that the ANC follows its rules and its constitution,” he said.
In response to the application, Gauteng Premier David Makhura said he was confident the party’s legal team would be able to resolve the matter.
Makhura said the party’s constitution was clear on the powers of the national executive committee (NEC).
He was responding to questions on the sidelines of the conference held in Benoni, Gauteng.
The NEC said the PEC was best tasked to deal with the matter.
The PEC said the issue of the five Ekurhuleni branches would not impact the conference because the same 19 votes will be quarantined at the provincial conference.
Sithole argued that the NEC had erred when it gave the provincial executive committee (PEC) the go-ahead to hold the conference.
He said the conference could not go ahead while the issue of the 19 votes from five Ekurhuleni branches remained unresolved.
Sithole wants to interdict the conference and set aside the NEC decision taken on Friday.
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The Ekurhuleni regional conference was marred by violence and at its contentious ending, which saw only preliminary results being announced, the steering committee overseeing the Ekurhuleni conference quarantined 19 votes, pending a verification process.
The 19 votes, from six branches, were quarantined due to alleged irregularities in how the delegates were allowed to vote, which meant the party could only declare the results after the national dispute resolution committee verified the outstanding votes.
Former Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina received 163 votes, compared to the 151 received by Doctor Xhakza.
Masina’s slate won all five top positions.
Re-elected provincial secretary Thembinkosi Nciza got the most votes, with 170, compared to the 124 of the ANC Women’s League leader in the region Nokuthula Xaba.