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Top ANC names off 'new' list
23/05/2008 08:13 - (SA)
Johan Brits, Marietjie Gericke and Cathy Dlodlo
Bloemfontein - Faction fights within the inner circle of the African National Congress in the Free State gained a new dimension with top members being shown away from branch meetings because their names did not appear on the party's "new" membership list.
A member of the ANC's national executive committee, an executive mayor and several ANC council members of the Mangaung municipality discovered to their shock that their names did not appear on the official ANC membership list.
This "new" list was issued recently after Free State party members underwent an auditing process.
Charlotte Lobe, a member of the ANC's national executive committee in the Free State and the ANC's former provincial secretary, confirmed that her name wasn't on the list.
She said she hadn't known the reason for this, but was surprised to hear about it.
Three sisters not on list
The name of her sister, Getrude Mothupi, the executive mayor of Mangaung municipality, also was not there.
Mothupi said: "Now, I'm not a member of the party I represent." She said her husband, Ramojoko, had not been on the list either.
Mothupi said that, as far as she knew, her membership expired only in 2010.
She had lodged an appeal, but she was unable to receive confirmation on how long the process would last. She said she did not think the process would be settled before the election.
The name of another sister and ANC member, Tshidi Modise, also was not on the list.
Volksblad was told confidentially that Mothupi and Lobe had been shown away by a police officer at an annual general meeting because their names did not appear on the membership list.
A sample taken by Volksblad showed that the names of Mothupi's spokesperson, Lele Mamatu, and that of Mahloma Ralebese, a speaker from the Mangaung municipal council, did appear on the list.
The name of an ANC council member, Thabo Olivier, who occasionally acted as speaker at city council meetings, was not on the membership list. "I'm sure it's just a technical slip," he said.
The name of another ANC council member and member of the mayoral committee of the Mangaung council, Andrew Montsi, was not on the list, either. He said there were people who had died whose names were on the list.
According to sources in the party, every province had to do this kind of audit before all regional, provincial and national congresses.
It was done by a committee compiled of members of the ANC national executive committee.
'Didn't make an effort'
Many of the ANC members names did not appear on the list because their membership had expired.
An insider said: "They didn't make an effort to renew their membership on time.
"Now that numbers were needed to satisfy their ambition, they were flapping about to get their own names and those of their supporters listed."
Spokespeople and members of the provincial executive committee of the ANC in the Free State were not available for comment.
- Volksblad
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