Cape Town – ANC Eastern Cape provincial chairperson Oscar Mabuyane says the party was now gearing up for a provincial conference and regional conferences now that the election period was almost completed.
The ANC had halted regional conferences because parties had to start campaigning for the November 1 elections.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa had to conduct elections early this month after its bid in the Constitutional Court to postpone it to next February failed.
The parties are now busy in coalition talks in the 66 hung municipalities across the country.
But they are racing against time and must form councils by Tuesday.
Mabuyane also said Covid-19 had forced them to postpone regional conferences.
However, he said the provincial and regional conferences must now be held ahead of the national elective conference in December next year.
This was a crucial conference for the election of new leaders of the ANC.
However, Mabuyane warned that conferences must not be used to divide the ANC in the Eastern Cape.
“We must now begin the process of preparing for regional conferences and the provincial conference as required by the ANC constitution. We have since adopted the roadmap and deadlines for these conferences.
“We will make sure that they are convened as soon as possible to normalise the situation in our structures,” said Mabuyane.
“Covid-19 and local government elections have delayed our conferences and it would have been irresponsible of us to risk the lives of ANC members by hosting conferences amid a deadly virus, hence the NEC guidance on conferences.
“We also took the right decision of postponing conferences to focus on the election to ensure a united ANC campaign. But work must be expedited to return the organisation to its rightful owners, the branches, for them to decide how to move the organisation forward on policies and on leadership in preparation for the national policy and elective conferences next year,” said Mabuyane.
He warned that there should not be violence in regional and provincial conferences.
This comes after some of the ANC conferences had degenerated into violence in the past.
Some of the people have been left injured because of the violence.
Mabuyane said the conferences should be over ideas and not violent conduct by fellow members.
Political Bureau