The African National Congress (ANC) Ekurhuleni Chairperson Mzwandile Masina has urged delegates to the region’s elective conference in Fourways, north of Johannesburg, to stop fighting over positions and instead focus on rebuilding the governing party.
He was speaking to the SABC following protests, accusations and counter-accusations that have rocked the second day of the elective conference.
Some delegates who have been barred from participating in the conference are protesting outside the venue.
They are accusing Masina and his supporters of conspiring to disqualify them in a desperate attempt to rig the elections. But Masina has called for calm.
However, the region’s ANC Youth League (ANCYL) has nailed its colours to the mast, seeking a change in leadership.
The Youth League successfully concluded its elective conference last weekend and now it’s setting its eyes on who should lead the Ekurhuleni region.
It is pushing for former Treasurer Doctor Xhakaza as their preferred candidate.
ANC Youth League’s Regional Executive Council (REC) Member Simphiwe Patose says, “The conference has declared to support products of the ANCYL, the likes of the former regional chairperson of the ANCYL, comrade Doctor Xhakaza to stand as the chairperson of the ANC.”
Political analyst Thamsanqa Malinga says it remains to be seen if the league still has the clout.
“If this conference is endorsed as having been an accredited conference that has got the mandate, I think the outcomes will be critical to one of the two slates,” says Malinga.
