Cope to hold unity talks

2010-05-21 07:48

Durban - Cope will hold unity talks in Johannesburg on Friday following infighting among party leaders ahead of its elective conference.

“It has been convened by Thozamile Botha (Cope MP),” the Congress of the People's head of policy Smuts Ngonyama said on Thursday afternoon.

Lobbying for Cope’s top posts has divided it into those supporting party president Mosiuoa Lekota and those who want him replaced by his deputy Mbhazima Shilowa.

Public spats

Divisions and public spats are threatening to disrupt the party's elective conference scheduled to take place at the end of May.

Last month Lekota publicly suggested Shilowa had mismanaged R20m allocated to the party by Parliament.

This week Ngonyama, Lekota’s ally, suggested the conference should not go ahead because many branches were not ready. He reiterated this on Thursday afternoon.

“The party is not ready for the conference. The branches are being audited as we speak. They are not going to finalise it on time. This means that many people will be left out.”

He said the conference would be a disaster if it was not postponed.

“The issue of funds is also a serious issue. I was in the Western Cape today where people told me each delegate was asked to fork out R1 800 to attend the conference. Where are they going to get that money from?”

Bringing organisation into disrepute

Cope’s general secretary Charlotte Lobe on Thursday accused Lekota of trying to derail the national conference.

In a letter to Cope members, Lobe wrote that she would recommend "stern action" against leaders who were turning the party's congress national committee (CNC) into "liars".

"As general secretary, I will have an obligation to recommend stern action against leaders who are turning the entire CNC into liars and bringing the organisation into disrepute," she said in a statement.

Lobe said she was "alarmed" at suggestions by some of the party's senior leaders, "especially the president and Ngonyama", that the organisation was not ready for the conference.

Lobe and Lekota were not immediately available to comment about the unity meeting.

- SAPA