ANC alliance partners calling on NEC to grant more power to IPC in North West

The alliance partners of the African National Congress (ANC) in North West have called on the NEC of the governing party to grant the Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) more support so that it can bring stability to the province.

The IPC fell out of favour with some structures after suspending premier Job Mokgoro and recalling some key figures in municipal councils across the province.

This has led to the NEC convening a meeting with the IPC to address the deepening divisions in the province that has never gone to conference, since the recall of former chairperson Supra Mahumapelo.

But analysts believe bringing stability to the polarised provincial structures won’t happen overnight.

A governing party was torn apart by factional battles.

Recently the IPC suspended the membership of premier Job Mokgoro and four members of the provincial legislature. It also resolved to recall the mayors, speakers and Chief Whips of several municipalities. This saw some members publicly calling out the IPC, accusing it of uneven handedness and sowing more divisions.

But the IPC says there’s too much defiance in the province, as its coordinator Hlomane Chauke explains, “For some time we have been trying to resolve these issues of ill-discipline where the structures of the movement are actually generally are being paralysed by certain forces that we do not understand. So we have discovered that we operate in a space where there is some kind of a rogue unit that operates in our province both at a level of government and at a level of our structures. So we have discovered that information and we expect that the national officials would have given us an opportunity just to share with them to understand what are the issues. So I am happy about the outcome.”

North West ANC briefs media on Premier Mokgoro’s membership suspension:

‘Requisite support’

The ANC alliance partners believe the ANC NEC has not accorded the IPC the requisite support. Provincial secretary of SANCO, Packet Seaketso says, “We expect the office of the secretary general to empower and support the IPC. Now empowerment and support are not there in the office from the office of the SG.”

Cosatu provincial secretary Kopano Konopi holds a similar view. “We expect the NEC to make the commitment and allow the IPC to do its work, without hindrance, as they are given the powers, in terms of the constitution. We are also expecting the NEC to support the IPC in the implementation of all the decisions that they have taken, and give them the necessary support, without criticising and interfering in the decision that they have taken.”

Political analyst Professor Andre Duvenhage says North West political challenges are a manifestation of the national ANC politics.

“This is the outcome of a situation that was developing over the past few years in the province. Huge internal conflicts and inability to hold elections and inability even to finalise a provincial executive. And now, you have these interim structures. The interim structure doesn’t function properly. Another outcome of this, people aren’t going to step aside. We know that there’s huge corruption in municipalities.”

The outcomes of the meeting between the ANC IPC and NEC are expected to be made public in due course.