FORMER ANC President Thabo Mbeki has arrived in the Free State to help the governing party in the province to preach unity among warring factions and rebuild party structures ahead of provincial conference in April or May.
The ANC’s Free State interim provincial leader Mxolisi Dukwana confirmed Mbeki’s visit on Thursday night, adding that the party’s first priority was to rebuild unity in the province so that they could deal with conference matters.
“President Mbeki is coming to the Free State province to engage on this issue and help us deal with challenges so that we’re able to see ourselves in the mirror and do things differently,” said Dukwana.
The Free State provincial conference will probably be held in April or May, and regional conferences are supposed to take place before the end of next month.
Mbeki arrived in the Free State capital of Manguang on Thursday at the invitation of the ANC interim provincial committee (IPC), which has been in charge of the province since last year after the disbandment of the provincial executive committee that was seen as loyal to Ace Magashule, who is the suspended ANC secretary-general.
Mbeki’s visit comes at a time when the party is fighting to survive following deep divisions dating back from 2012 when Magashule was still at the helm.
The province has an Interim Provincial Committee led by Dukwana after the Supreme Court of Appeal verdict which disbanded the leadership and found it unconstitutional.
The former President will visit the province from February 17-19.
The reason the National Executive Committee established an Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) is to revive and organise the structures through a renewal process.
The party’s provincial spokesperson Oupa Khoabane said the decision to invite Mbeki was premised on the long history of disbandment and dissolutions of the provincial committee as a result of malfeasance in electing the structure.
Mbeki, in his three-day visit, will be interacting with different sectors of society.
Mbeki’s address about unity comes on the heels of the ANC’s Interim Regional Committee (IRC) taking a decision to suspend the Mangaung Metro Municipality’s speaker, Stefani Lockman, following the allegations about her defying the order of the party not to allow a sitting which saw the former Acting City Manager Sello More’s removal from office.
In addition, the IRC’s coordinator, Sabelo Pitso, stated the former member of the mayoral committee (MMC), Patrick Monyakoane, should be removed from the list of the Independent Electoral Committee (IEC), as he was part of a group of ANC members which removed More as the acting manager.
Mbeki has in the past come out strongly against political opportunism in the ANC, saying the ruling party members should remain vigilant against individuals seeking office for financial gain.
He has also warned that if this “self-seeking spirit” went unchecked it “would guarantee both the destruction of the ANC and the rest of the progressive movement”.
Mbeki’s strong anti-corruption stance has arguably won him as many friends as enemies.
- * Inside Politics
