Matiti is going to close a proper regional congress

The report, confirmed by some person presenting himself as a leader of the ANC in the region, is about an annual general meeting of the Ward 17 Raymond Mhlaba branch of the ANC in Buffalo City Metro which is said to have taken place on October 18.

According to the story – supplemented by a cartoon by some gentleman named Miles – the branches of the ANC did not nominate Ayanda Matiti as a candidate for the elusive regional conference.

For the record, Matiti is going to be closing the conference when it is properly convened.

This report shows why the Dispatch is always embroiled in controversy – it chases sensation wanting to sell newspapers like hot cakes. This is done without checking all the facts.

Perception is everything in communications, and whatever damage control one may attempt afterwards will count for nothing.

This is what provincial ANC leader Oscar Mabuyane and his protege in the region were angling for, knowing that their days of influence in Buffalo City Metro are nearing the end after being on the back foot for so long, owing to the various political protest marches we have embarked on.

The marches have been against a tendency to applaud and condone membership rigging and the backdating of membership forms.

Indeed, it would seem that apartheid-style tactics are being employed and perfected by certain individuals to deal with their detractors within the movement.

Going back to the point of the Dispatch political desk erring in its pursuit of a sensational story, it failed to interview ordinary members of the ANC in the said branch about whether or not the said meeting did in fact, sit on the said date.

For starters, the venue for this branch meeting was pencilled in as the Eluxolweni Community Hall.

Upon arrival, the situation was untenable for the holding of a meeting as things turned rowdy.

Then the venue was moved to the NU 6 rent office without telling the full contingent of membership who were in attendance at the Eluxolweni Community Hall.

Those who were not informed nevertheless followed others to this venue, where they clearly planned to steal and alter an outcome that would favour a nonsensical slate populated and championed by fraudsters – some of whom have a case to answer in a court next month.

In this next venue, tensions continued to mount and the law enforcement of Buffalo City Metro was called to the scene.

After seeing what had happened and what was about to happen, instructions were given for everybody inside the venue to exit.

Mind you, the branch chairperson who doubles as a councillor and who also has a question mark hanging over her owing to allegations of fraud relating to housing allocations, had locked the gate of the venue so that members of the other faction – consisting of us – could not gain access.

People were ejected by the municipal law enforcement ably assisted by the South African Police Service who by now had also been called to restore and maintain order.

Now, can anyone of those present and who commented in the Saturday Dispatch article dispute this account of how events unfolded? The answer is a big no.

The aim of that article was to project Matiti as a lost cause, someone who does not even enjoy the support of his own branch, and a question would therefore be posed about him, as was the case in 2013 leading up to the ANC provincial conference when it was wrongly reported that he did not even have membership of the ANC.

Something that was disputed by the deputy secretary-general of the ANC, Jessie Duarte, when she visited this region to listen to the branches after receiving communication about membership rigging and the backdating of forms.

If you wish to know, editor, a report is being finalised by the Office of the Treasurer-General of the ANC, Zweli Mkhize, about the backdating of membership forms and membership rigging.

This also features a report from First National Bank owing to the shenanigans of its former employee and members of the ANC regional executive committee in Buffalo City Metro.

There is now a person sitting at home without a job because he was seduced by promises of all sorts of things if he co-operated in banking ripping off the ANC by inflating membership numbers.

True members of the ANC must rise and defend the ANC in all eight regions of this province from those who hide behind organisational procedure and principle whenever it is conducive for them to do so.

Anyone who makes a vow that a certain so and so will never emerge as a leader, not as long as they are still around, expresses sentiments that should never occupy the psyche of a leader. No ANC leader anywhere in South Africa acts in such a manner.

To make ourselves clear we visited Calata House yesterday – and we did not go bearing gifts as was the case with the men from the East who visited the baby Jesus. We will no longer allow individuals to do as they please. We are going to reclaim the power of the branches and not have people acting as if they own the movement.

Xolani Somaca is an ANC Raymond Mhlaba branch activist