Monday marks the deadline for the African National Congress (ANC) Branch General Meetings to sit ahead of next month’s National Elective Conference.
Around 71% of eligible ANC branches have qualified.
As a result, party spokesperson Pule Mabe last week confirmed that the conference would take place.
Out of the nine provinces, only the Free State and Western Cape are yet to have their provincial conferences.
Mabe says what is left now is for all those who wish to participate in the conference to register as delegates.
ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told the media in Carltonville during the Letsema campaign on Sunday that issues surrounding the process would be looked into.
“We’ve looked into the progress that has been made, the big bulk of them have passed…there are those that have been disqualified, going for re-runs and many of them have gone through and there are those that were outstanding. We were hoping that they will be through by today because tomorrow there is no process that will be finalised as tomorrow is the deadline, it’s the closing date but if there are problems that are regarding codes and assessment of branches, we will not just shut them out, we will have to look at the circumstances surrounding that.”
Mantashe slams criticism of Ramaphosa
Meanwhile, speaking during the sidelines of the Letsema Campaign, Mantashe lashed out at former leaders of the party who have been criticising its incumbent, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Last month, former party leaders, Kgalema Motlanthe, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma lambasted President Cyril Ramaphosa for the state of the ANC and the country.
NEC member Lindiwe Sisulu’s recent comments have also drawn criticism from senior leaders within the ANC.
Several provinces including KwaZulu-Natal, the North West, and Limpopo have slammed the public criticism of Ramaphosa.
“Any prior leadership who criticises their successors, to me are in the wrong, that’s my starting point. When you are in a leadership position, you don’t go public and criticise your successor or your predecessor because you have access to them,” says Mantashe.
Mantashe says public criticism of the ANC’s top leader is an act of ill-discipline:
