ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte arrived in East London yesterday on a four-day visit of the Eastern Cape.On a mission to assess the state of the organisation in the province’s two metros, she spent her first day locked in meetings with Buffalo City Metro (BCM) mayor Alfred Mtsi, his deputy Xola Pakati, council speaker Zoliswa Matana as well as council chief whip Mzwandile Vaaibom. She was also scheduled to meet acting municipal manager Nceba Ncunyana.
The party in the Dr WB Rubusana (formerly BCM) region is locked in a faction fight, with one group having so far marched a number of times to both regional and provincial headquarters to demand that the BCM regional executive (REC) be disbanded and its secretary Pumlani Mkolo removed.
At the heart of the dispute are the criminal charges facing a number of REC members and BCM councillors for their alleged involvement in the misuse of R5.9-million. The funds had been earmarked to transport BCM mourners to memorial services for the late statesman Nelson Mandela.
Metro leaders announced last Sunday that Mkolo had been suspended as party secretary and council speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele demoted to councillor.
ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane confirmed yesterday that Duarte met with “the BCM Troika” at noon, where she was taken through the challenges facing the municipality against the ANC’s own manifesto targets.
“From there on, there was a scheduled meeting with all branch secretaries and their respective chairmen, where discussions on challenges facing each branch were to be discussed,” he said.
Those against the Pakati-led REC are arguing that the ANC will have to table outcomes of the investigation into the backdating of bank membership forms first before operations at branch level in BCM can return to normality.
Duarte led the team which investigated the scam last June. Her findings are still under wraps.
The branches are finalising their general meetings, but the disgruntled group also wants these BGMs cancelled and restarted.
Duarte will leave BCM today after engaging with a “cadres forum” of stakeholders, including church and community leaders.
Duarte’s next stop will be Nelson Mandela Metro tomorrow, where she will lead the party’s registration campaign, as the Electoral Commission has declared this weekend its voter registration weekend.
Mabuyane said Duarte will also meet with the regional task team to assess the state of the party in that area before travelling to Sarah Baartman region as her last stop in the province. — zineg@dispatch.co.za
ANC's Duarte tours metro as party supporters protest
On a mission to assess the state of the organisation in the province’s two metros, she spent her first day locked in meetings with Buffalo City Metro (BCM) mayor Alfred Mtsi, his deputy Xola Pakati, council speaker Zoliswa Matana as well as council chief whip Mzwandile Vaaibom. She was also scheduled to meet acting municipal manager Nceba Ncunyana.
The party in the Dr WB Rubusana (formerly BCM) region is locked in a faction fight, with one group having so far marched a number of times to both regional and provincial headquarters to demand that the BCM regional executive (REC) be disbanded and its secretary Pumlani Mkolo removed.
At the heart of the dispute are the criminal charges facing a number of REC members and BCM councillors for their alleged involvement in the misuse of R5.9-million. The funds had been earmarked to transport BCM mourners to memorial services for the late statesman Nelson Mandela.
Metro leaders announced last Sunday that Mkolo had been suspended as party secretary and council speaker Luleka Simon-Ndzele demoted to councillor.
ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane confirmed yesterday that Duarte met with “the BCM Troika” at noon, where she was taken through the challenges facing the municipality against the ANC’s own manifesto targets.
“From there on, there was a scheduled meeting with all branch secretaries and their respective chairmen, where discussions on challenges facing each branch were to be discussed,” he said.
Those against the Pakati-led REC are arguing that the ANC will have to table outcomes of the investigation into the backdating of bank membership forms first before operations at branch level in BCM can return to normality.
Duarte led the team which investigated the scam last June. Her findings are still under wraps.
The branches are finalising their general meetings, but the disgruntled group also wants these BGMs cancelled and restarted.
Duarte will leave BCM today after engaging with a “cadres forum” of stakeholders, including church and community leaders.
Duarte’s next stop will be Nelson Mandela Metro tomorrow, where she will lead the party’s registration campaign, as the Electoral Commission has declared this weekend its voter registration weekend.
Mabuyane said Duarte will also meet with the regional task team to assess the state of the party in that area before travelling to Sarah Baartman region as her last stop in the province. — zineg@dispatch.co.za
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