Several ANC provincial leaders and structures have downplayed concerns that there could be a crisis at the party's headquarters where the secretary-general's office is left with no permanent political head in a crucial elective conference year.
The leadership vacuum in the secretary-general's office (SGO) has been worsened by the absence of deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte who took ill last month and has been absent from office since her hospitalisation.
Duarte took over the duties of secretary-general 10 months ago after the suspension of Ace Magashule but her ill health has forced the party to shift the bulk of her responsibilities to treasurer-general Paul Mashatile.
Mashatile, the only full time official remaining at Luthuli House, has effectively been given the task of running all the affairs of the organisation, on top of his responsibilities of mobilising funds for the broke party.
The SGO is expected to play a crucial role leading to the party's elective conference in December by dealing with audits, membership credentials, the issuing of certificates confirming the readiness of structures to hold their conferences as well as dealing with internal disputes.
While branch general meetings (BGMs) and regional conferences were still being held across provinces, the ANC decided last month that all provincial conferences will be held by March.
Eastern Cape ANC secretary Lulama Ngcukaitobi said there was no doubt that the absence of permanent political leadership within the SGO had resulted in weaknesses within the party’s internal processes.
“It is obvious that the absence of a permanent secretary-general will have a negative impact in any organisation. The deputy secretary-general [Duarte] did fairly well in doing her work in the absence of an SG, so her absence is a setback,” Ngcukaitobi said. He said there was however no cause for alarm as Duarte was expected to return to office soon.
He said he was also aware of complaints about possible instances of manipulation of processes and gatekeeping which he downplayed.
“Of course there is every attempt to manipulate by those that wish to be elected but the ANC has internal mechanisms that are not limited to the functionaries in the SGO,” Ngcukaitobi said.
A number of ANC regional leaders said while the vacuum within the SGO imposed concerns of weakened efficiencies, this would be minimal as provincial structures played a crucial role in managing affairs of branches and regions in the build-up to the elective congress.
Some branch and regional ANC leaders in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, who refused to speak on the record, said the absence of full time political leadership within the SGO would undermine the monitoring of internal processes.
An ANC leader in eThekwini said the party would battle to manage disputes which were inevitable ahead of the elective conference.
“We always have disputes up until the day of congress, so resolving these issues will be a serious challenge if DSG, at least, does not come and provide political leadership.”
Another ANC leader in the Amathole region in the Eastern Cape pointed out that Mashatile would not be able to lead the mobilisation of money for the upcoming ANC events and still be effective in leading the SGO politically.
“He is failing even as the TG (treasurer-general) now, but the problem is that the members are afraid to raise issues because they fear being sent to disciplinary hearings. People cannot engage freely.”
Sumbandile branch chairperson in Limpopo, Fistos Mafela, whose structure was forced to cancel Magashule’s visit during the ANC’s January 8 event, said he had written to the party complaining about the implication of the leaderless SGO.
“You cannot say Paul can run the SGO when he has failed to mobilise resources for the organisation and for the workers who remain unpaid. The SGO office is very important but I think they want it to be weakened for their own political ends,” Mafela said.
Former ANC Nelson Mandela Bay councillor Andile Lungisa, who is eyeing the provincial treasurer position in the upcoming provincial conference, said the vacuum would cause chaos as the SGO was the “nerve centre of the organisation”.
“Even those who are saying there is staff at the SGO are misguided because that office will still limp without the elected political leadership that has to give dedicated guidance,” he said.
But some regional leaders in Gauteng said they were not alarmed by the vacuum at the party’s headquarters.
Sedibeng coordinator Mafika Mgcina said: “The office was able to organise a successful January 8th statement event without the full time officials. If that did not happen, we would have said there is a crisis in the national office but that did not happen.”
Northern Cape secretary Deshi Ngxanga said while Mashatile was holding the fort, the provincial structure was not concerned as Duarte was still involved in the running of the office despite being home.
Political analyst Prof Susan Booysen said it was difficult to make a reading of how the current situation at Luthuli House strengthened or weakened any faction ahead of the December conference.
Mashatile did not respond to Sowetan requests for an interview on the matter.
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