'ANC more than ready for Mangaung'
2012-12-04 21:42
Johannesburg - Bar two new provincial nomination conferences and some branch
general meeting (BGM) reruns, the ANC is "more than ready" for its
upcoming national conference, it said on Tuesday.
"It's going to be an exciting conference," ANC secretary general
Gwede Mantashe told reported in the lobby of the party's headquarters.
The Western Cape and Limpopo will on Wednesday hold their provincial
nomination conferences again, after both collapsed at the weekend.
This followed a decision by the party's national executive committee (NEC)
on Monday to finalise preparations for the national conference in Mangaung
later this month.
If the provinces fail to hold successful conferences they will forfeit the
right to nominate candidates that way and will have to nominate candidates from
the floor at Mangaung.
The ANC said six NEC members would be sent to the Western Cape and six to
Limpopo to facilitate the conference reruns.
NEC members would also attend the nomination conferences so they could
readily confirm nominations.
Some branches had been directed to rerun their BGMs because of problems and
had until Friday to do so.
"So we are not having an open season for BGMs... only those BGMs that
have been directed to rerun," said Mantashe.
Party members at the provincial conferences were meant to select candidates
to stand for leadership posts at the ANC's elective conference in Mangaung.
Besides Limpopo and Western Cape, North West's conference was also in danger
of failing over factional discord about whether to support a "top
six" team led by President Jacob Zuma, or by Deputy President Kgalema
Motlanthe, who hold the same positions within the ANC.
In the North West, issues about the verification of branch delegates and a
parallel conference were raised and a new conference at a new venue with both
factions was held.
Mantashe said the North West's nominations were considered finalised.
Expelled
He condemned an attack on North West provincial secretary Kabelo Mataboge,
who was shot at in Mmabatho on Friday, and hoped the police would bring the
culprits to book.
In spite of the tumult, Mantashe predicted that the Mangaung conference
would be "stable", with no rowdiness.
"There is nothing that points to rowdiness in Mangaung," he said.
He could not predict whether there would be a motion from the floor to let
expelled ANC Youth League president Julius Malema back into the ANC.
"It's not for me [to decide], it's [for] the floor, and I'm not the
floor."
Mantashe also said any prearranged outcome at the conference was not
possible.
"It wouldn't happen."
If it was possible, the ANC would only have had "three or four
presidents" in its 100-year history, instead of the current 13, he said.
There would be lobbying attempts though.
Mantashe said making nominations from the floor at Mangaung was a way of
changing the existing nominations.
"If your nomination is defeated, you have another chance to put up your
nomination and put up 25% of support, so there is no train smash."
He did not want to talk about the Free State, where six disgruntled members
are challenging the composition of the provincial executive committee.
An anticipated 4 500 voting delegates are expected to attend the conference,
as are 850 media, workers and local and international guests.
Logistical arrangements were in place.
According to the programme adopted by the NEC, Zuma's political report and
Mantashe's organisational will be delivered during an open session on the first
day.
The financial report and constitutional amendments will be made in the first
closed session of the conference.
The nominations and the announcements of election results of both the
national officials and additional members of the NEC will be conducted by the
Independent Electoral Commission and an elections agency, also in open
sessions.
- SAPA
