'We won't tolerate this nonsense'

2008-10-13 07:30

Pieter du Toit, Philda Essop and Jan-Jan Joubert

Cape Town - The ANC won't stand for Mosioua Lekota's "nonsense" much longer, Mathews Phosa said on Sunday before a make-or-break meeting with Lekota on Monday.

The meeting between Lekota and Phosa, the ANC's treasurer-general, was scheduled last week in order to discuss Lekota's grievances with the party and its leadership. Phosa told Beeld on Sunday that the party's door is open.

Asked how much longer the ANC would tolerate Lekota, Phosa said: "Not much longer".

Lekota raised the political temperature on Saturday when he attacked the ANC in front of more than 2 500 disgruntled ANC members in Langa.

"The meeting will continue (despite Lekota's statements)... but we'll have to make a decision (about Lekota). We are here (if he wants) to talk (to us), but then it should be done in the inner sanctum of the ANC.

Party traditions

"But if they insisting on working outside the structures... I don't want to pre-empt anything," Phosa said. He did not want to speculate about disciplinary steps against, or the suspension of Lekota and his followers.

Phosa emphasised that ANC members are expected to follow the party's traditions and rules when airing grievances and repeated that this "could not" be done in public.

"We don't want to argue in front of the whole country. Our doors are open. But we're not going to tolerate this nonsense much longer," he warned.

Lekota said on Sunday that, to the best of his knowledge, the meeting with Phosa was going ahead, but it wouldn't be held at Luthuli House, the party's headquarters.

In view of Saturday's gathering he did not want to say if he was planning to relinquish his party membership. "I don't want to talk about it now," he said.

Jan-Jan Joubert reports that the ANC in the Western Cape has decided to summarily suspend its regional executive committee in Cape Town and to take action against ANC representatives favouring Lekota's breakaway.

The ANC in the Cape metro will temporarily be managed by a group of eight people led by contentious former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni. The group will manage the region until a new regional leadership can be democratically elected as soon as possible at a regional conference.

Mcebisi Skwatsha, the ANC leader in the Western Cape, made this dramatic announcement to loud applause at the ANC Western Cape provincial general council in the Guguletu sports centre.

Cape Town metro is known in ANC structures as the Dullah Omar region, and is home to more than two-thirds of voters in the Western Cape.

- Die Burger