By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) Gauteng’s 14th provincial conference resumed on Saturday, 9 July, to conclude its business.
They had a short programme planned for this weekend as the province attempted to conclude its congress, which failed to close two weeks ago.
The provincial conference, previously held from 23 to 26 June 2022, was marred by several delays over the adoption of credentials.
At the time, Panyaza Lesufi was elected as the chairperson, replacing Premier David Makhura after serving as his deputy for five years.
Other leaders elected at the conference included Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, TK Nciza, Tasneem Motara, and Morakane Mosupye as deputy provincial chair, secretary, deputy secretary, and treasurer, respectively.
Conflicts and debates about credentials had marred the initial sitting in June.
The conference could only elect the top leaders for the province, but not the complete executive committee.
A similar pattern of arguments played out on Saturday at the resumption of the gathering.
While Lesufi attempted to guide delegates to the election process for PEC members, a fraction of delegates raised objections.
A debate ensued, with people taking to the microphone, calling for the conference to open quarantined votes from the Ekurhuleni region.
The Ekurhuleni conference saw votes from five branches set aside at the regional conference in May.
Those same branches were allowed to participate at the ANC Gauteng conference, but the votes were again set aside.
The ANC national executive committee had decided that the newly elected ANC Gauteng PEC should deal with the disputed branches from Ekurhuleni.
A delegate from Ekhurhuleni said “they must open the quarantined votes.”
Another delegate from Joburg took a different stance, saying not opening the votes would be undemocratic.
Lebogang Maile, who contested the chairperson position against Lesufi, said those calling for quarantined votes to be opened had to understand that those could have implications on the election outcome of the top five.
A steering committee meeting was held late on Saturday night involving ANC national NEC members, and ANC Gauteng officials decided not to open the votes.
There remains a belief among ANC members that the votes could sway the elections of the ANC Gauteng provincial officials.
That was one of several reasons presented for the votes to be opened ahead of the election of PEC members.
Lesufi said the conference resolved and accepted that the votes had no bearing on the provincial conference.
The ANC is a transparent organisation. It would have been a miscarriage of justice if the matters brought by delegates were not entertained. We decided that let’s separate the matters of Ekurhuleni from the provincial conference. The ANC NEC will help us finalise matters related to the Ekurhuleni conference,” Lesufi said.
Lesufi added that if delegates failed “to get the ANC right, we will struggle to get SA right. When you divide the ANC, you divide society.”
Taking a jab at opposition parties, he said: “They may try, they may form new formations, they may merge new formations and they may form coalitions, but the reality is there is only one movement for our people and that movement is the ANC.”
For the party to prosper, there were three things it needed to achieve.
“We must ensure those who love and vote for the ANC must continue to love and vote for the ANC, but we must not take advantage of their love for the ANC. We must ensure [that those who doubt the ANC come to love the ANC].
“We must make sure those who hate the ANC have no new reason to hate the ANC further.”
If these three goals were achieved, the ANC would be in pole-position to ensure it remained the party of choice for SA, said Lesufi.