By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) Ekurhuleni is scheduled to hold its regional conference this weekend despite the unresolved disputes.
This was after eight branches lodged disputes with the ANC’s provincial dispute resolution committee.
The branches have accused regional secretary Thembinkosi ‘TK’ Nciza and regional chairperson Mzwandile Masina of manipulating branch qualification guidelines to exclude them from the conference.
On Friday, chaotic scenes played out during registration at the Boksburg Civic Centre when ANC members aligned to regional chairperson contender Doctor Xhakaza said they were not being allowed to register and were being locked outside the gate.
Xhakaza is going head-to-head with Masina who is seeking a third term as regional chairperson.
Nokuthula Xaba, who is running for regional secretary, said there were still outstanding disputes from about eight branches which had not yet been resolved.
“There were branches that qualified after verification. But after weeks, they came back saying they’ve been disqualified. We also want to know why they’ve been disqualified after verification was done.
“Another thing that shocked us was that the guidelines of the ANC say if there’s a problem, the branch must put [raise] disputes but in this situation, there was no dispute from branches but rather the coordinator, who wrote disputes.
“We feel it’s unfair because the guidelines are meant to protect both the organisation and branches,” Xaba said.
Some branches suspect foul play, accusing organisers of manipulating branch qualification guidelines to exclude them from the conference.
The situation has since returned to normal .
Conference is set to sit at the Indaba Hotel in Fourways, Johannesburg.
The greater Johannesburg region will be holding its conference next week after it was initially supposed to also be held last week.