UDM cracks over OR Tambo

United Democratic Movement’s (UDM) biggest region in the country is being rocked by divisions which might have a huge impact on the unity of the party as it heads to its elective national conference next month.

UDM provincial secretary Wandile Tsipa is disputing the outcome of last week’s elective OR Tambo regional conference endorsing General Bantu Holomisa to serve another term as party president.

Daily Dispatch yesterday reported that the regional conference elected Mfundiso Mkrokrelwa as the new regional chairman, Mzwandile Cobe as deputy chairman and Mabandla Gogo as regional secretary.

But Tsipa yesterday derided the conference as an irrelevant “get-together of comrades”.

Tsipa said the OR Tambo conference was never sanctioned by the provincial executive committee or by the party’s national office.

“Mabandla Gogo, and those responsible for defying UDM protocol and the constitution, will be dealt with by the PEC,” said Tsipa.

Gogo lashed out at Tsipa, accusing him of creating disunity and chaos in the region.

“We are a legitimate structure. Tsipa must accept that.”

At the heart of the problem in the region is the status of some of the branches, according to Tsipa.

This was despite UDM provincial chairman Zama Mqolo, who serves with Tsipa in the top five in the province, facilitating the regional conference and giving it his approval.

Tsipa referred to a letter he wrote to OR Tambo branches on October 19 in which he stated there was a decision to put the minimum threshold of the conference at 110 branches.

In the letter, he stated that only 34 branches were launched in OR Tambo and “therefore, insofar as the PEC is concerned, there won’t be a congress in OR Tambo on October 31”.

Mqolo confirmed there were only 69 fully-fledged branches in OR Tambo, 41 less than 110, but he said the threshold target was “just a target that was set”.

Mqolo referred to another letter by UDM secretary-general Bongani Msomi on October 26, a week before the conference, addressed to both Tsipa and Mqolo in which Msomi stated the national office had not approved of the sitting of the OR Tambo UDM conference. Among the issues Msomi raised were:

lNo forms had been sent to the national office for an audit of OR Tambo branches;

lThe threshold set out by the PEC had not been met;

lBranches qualified to take part in the conference had been excluded because they had not been launched; and

lThe number of branches launched according to regional leaders did not correspond with the PEC’s records.

Mqolo lashed out at his critics, saying a regional congress was convened and sanctioned by the PEC, and not by the NEC.

“Only the provincial congress is convened and sanctioned nationally.

“In my experience as a politician there was no congress that a chairman presides over which can be declared illegitimate.

“The congress was very successful. I will compile a report to both the PEC and the NEC,” said Mqolo.

Msomi was not available to comment.