On the eve of its provincial conference that kicked off on Friday, the ANC's Limpopo leadership put on a united front amid deep divisions that have haunted the party in the past five years.
On Friday, the provincial executive committee wraps up what is arguably its most precarious term, characterised by the VBS Mutual Bank bank scandal, which deepened its discord over how to deal with corruption.
With the second-biggest ANC membership, Limpopo has increasingly become an influential bloc in the ANC, especially leading up to the party’s elective conference in December.
But this weekend’s leadership race is not so much about the national elective conference – both factions led by Stan Mathabatha and Dickson Masemola support party president Cyril Ramaphosa’s re-election in December.
Instead, the contestation is about how the province, one of the poorest run, should deal with those accused of corruption in the face of declining electoral support.
The group led by Masemola and provincial secretary Soviet Lekganyane has positioned itself as reformists who are against the looting that is crippling the province under premier Mathabatha.
A normally vocal critic of those accused of corruption, Lekganyane on Thursday shut down any questions about VBS Mutual Bank or the party’s step-aside rule, which applies to those charged with corruption.
But notably absent from yesterday’s press conference was Danny Msiza, the provincial strongman who is facing charges of fraud and corruption in connection with the VBS Mutual Bank bank heist.
Msiza, a supporter of Mathabatha, served a fraction of his term as treasurer having stepped aside at least twice since the VBS Mutual Bank heist report emerged in 2018.
Mathabatha is supported by the Vhembe region, Peter Mokaba and Sekhukhune, while Masemola is supported by the Norman Mashabane region.
Meanwhile, the Waterberg region has asked for a day to hold its conference before attending the provincial gathering.
Mathabatha said the provincial leadership would discuss the request to ascertain if it was feasible or not, adding it would not affect the provincial conference.
Meanwhile, some branches have lodged disputes and want their branch general meetings to reconvene, however, Lekganyane said all disputes had been dealt with.
Lekganyane also raised issues with the Peter Mokaba regional conference, calling its legitimacy into question.
He said he felt vindicated when his concerns were substantiated by the national dispute resolution committee.
“The disputes have been resolved... I belong to one branch... I raised the disputes related to Peter Mokaba. The report that came out on Thursday and says the secretary was right. Those branches appear and there was no need for noise.
“When you’re a leader of the ANC you always want to have a legitimate conference. I can’t just wake up and want things that aren’t there.
“The report on Thursday says I was right when it said there were matters that emanated from that regional conference and there was no need for me to be crucified.
“When you tell comrades issues, they want to insist there are no issues. Those issues have been there for the last five months. Love or hate, the truth is here,” he said.
About 1,200 voting delegates are expected to descend on The Ranch outside Polokwane to decide on new leaders.
This is broken down into 1,100 branch delegates and 32 PEC members, with the rest of the figure made up of members of the leagues.
Peter Mokaba will have 219 voting delegates, Vhembe 270, Norman Mashabane 216, Waterberg 140 and Sekhukhune 211.
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