The ANC’s provincial disciplinary committee has cleared all but two of the 20 “rebels” who formed a parallel structure to rival the Buffalo City Metro’s (BCM) regional leadership.
The two – veteran MPL Joe Jordan, who was elected as the parallel structure’s convener, and its coordinator Mahlubi Dywili – were found guilty “of provoking divisions” within the party’s structures.
Jordan and Dywili’s sin, in the eyes of ANC’s provincial disciplinary committee (PDC), was signing a letter addressed to ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, informing national officials they had established an interim executive committee in BCM.
This was despite the provincial executive committee having given its blessing to the regional elective conference that elected Xola Pakati as regional chair in November.
The pair were found guilty of contravening the party’s constitution rule 25.17.6 in that they allegedly “behaved in a manner which provokes or is likely to provoke divisions or impact negatively on the unity of the ANC”.
They were acquitted on all the other charges, which included participating in organised factional activities, prejudicing the integrity of the ANC and creating divisions within party ranks.
Both Jordan and Dywili yesterday refused to comment, saying they would only do so once all charges against them were withdrawn.
However, their co-accused and the group’s spokesman Xolani Somaca said yesterday they would appeal the verdict against their two comrades.
“Their only recourse would be to appeal the matter in the party’s national appeals committee,” Somaca said.
“We know that they are being persecuted for raising various transgressions in our region, including allowing fraudulent members to participate in party processes.
“We know that this charge they are found guilty on will not stick, hence we will be supporting them when they lodge this appeal.
“We are confident they will win.”
Somaca said the hearing “was obviously a way of disrupting and sidelining us from all the processes leading up to the local government elections”.
“Even from the timing of this judgment, you can tell that it was deliberately delayed so that we could be sidelined from all the processes, including the nomination of councillor candidates, a process which has now been finalised,” he said.
Jordan and the 19 others had challenged the involvement of those facing charges for the Mandela funeral funds scandal in the executive of the ANC’s Dr WB Rubusana region (formerly Buffalo City). These included suspended regional secretary Pumlani Mkolo, regional deputy chair Luleka Simon-Ndzele and regional executive member Sindiswa Gomba.
The three politicians, and a number of East London business people, still face criminal charges for their alleged involvement in the swindling of more than R5.9-million from BCM coffers that had been earmarked for Madiba’s memorial services.
In her findings, PDC chairwoman and ANC MPL Busisiwe Ndlangisa-Makaula found that only Jordan and Dywili could be linked to the parallel structure as there was no substantive evidence to link the other 18 to the formation of the structure.
The group last year embarked on protests against their party, highlighting various irregularities in the region ahead of its elective conference.
They were later suspended and charged on numerous counts of bringing the party into disrepute when they called for the ANC to nullify the outcomes of last November’s regional conference, which they alleged was convened based on fraudulent membership.
When their objections were not heard after a series of protests, and they were excluded from attending the regional conference, the group decided to form their own regional task team, though they disbanded it in December on the insistence of national leadership.
Attempts to reach Ndlangisa-Makaula, ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane and provincial spokesman Mlibo Qoboshiyane, were unsuccessful at the time of writing yesterday.
The judgment comes as factional fights continue to cloud the ANC’s nomination programme in OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo regions.
In OR Tambo, losers at last year’s elective conference wrote to Mantashe pleading with the national leadership to nullify the outcomes of the conference that saw Xolile Nkompela’s grouping win the regional vote.
Similar divisions continue in Alfred Nzo. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
Two of 20 ANC ‘rebels’ found guilty
The two – veteran MPL Joe Jordan, who was elected as the parallel structure’s convener, and its coordinator Mahlubi Dywili – were found guilty “of provoking divisions” within the party’s structures.
Jordan and Dywili’s sin, in the eyes of ANC’s provincial disciplinary committee (PDC), was signing a letter addressed to ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, informing national officials they had established an interim executive committee in BCM.
This was despite the provincial executive committee having given its blessing to the regional elective conference that elected Xola Pakati as regional chair in November.
The pair were found guilty of contravening the party’s constitution rule 25.17.6 in that they allegedly “behaved in a manner which provokes or is likely to provoke divisions or impact negatively on the unity of the ANC”.
They were acquitted on all the other charges, which included participating in organised factional activities, prejudicing the integrity of the ANC and creating divisions within party ranks.
Both Jordan and Dywili yesterday refused to comment, saying they would only do so once all charges against them were withdrawn.
However, their co-accused and the group’s spokesman Xolani Somaca said yesterday they would appeal the verdict against their two comrades.
“Their only recourse would be to appeal the matter in the party’s national appeals committee,” Somaca said.
“We know that they are being persecuted for raising various transgressions in our region, including allowing fraudulent members to participate in party processes.
“We know that this charge they are found guilty on will not stick, hence we will be supporting them when they lodge this appeal.
“We are confident they will win.”
Somaca said the hearing “was obviously a way of disrupting and sidelining us from all the processes leading up to the local government elections”.
“Even from the timing of this judgment, you can tell that it was deliberately delayed so that we could be sidelined from all the processes, including the nomination of councillor candidates, a process which has now been finalised,” he said.
Jordan and the 19 others had challenged the involvement of those facing charges for the Mandela funeral funds scandal in the executive of the ANC’s Dr WB Rubusana region (formerly Buffalo City). These included suspended regional secretary Pumlani Mkolo, regional deputy chair Luleka Simon-Ndzele and regional executive member Sindiswa Gomba.
The three politicians, and a number of East London business people, still face criminal charges for their alleged involvement in the swindling of more than R5.9-million from BCM coffers that had been earmarked for Madiba’s memorial services.
In her findings, PDC chairwoman and ANC MPL Busisiwe Ndlangisa-Makaula found that only Jordan and Dywili could be linked to the parallel structure as there was no substantive evidence to link the other 18 to the formation of the structure.
The group last year embarked on protests against their party, highlighting various irregularities in the region ahead of its elective conference.
They were later suspended and charged on numerous counts of bringing the party into disrepute when they called for the ANC to nullify the outcomes of last November’s regional conference, which they alleged was convened based on fraudulent membership.
When their objections were not heard after a series of protests, and they were excluded from attending the regional conference, the group decided to form their own regional task team, though they disbanded it in December on the insistence of national leadership.
Attempts to reach Ndlangisa-Makaula, ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane and provincial spokesman Mlibo Qoboshiyane, were unsuccessful at the time of writing yesterday.
The judgment comes as factional fights continue to cloud the ANC’s nomination programme in OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo regions.
In OR Tambo, losers at last year’s elective conference wrote to Mantashe pleading with the national leadership to nullify the outcomes of the conference that saw Xolile Nkompela’s grouping win the regional vote.
Similar divisions continue in Alfred Nzo. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
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