The ANC in Eastern Cape held a special Provincial Executive Committee meeting on Monday 11 December 2017, in the main the meeting served to assess the state of readiness of the province for the upcoming 54th National Conference.
The meeting was preceded by a meeting of the ANC PEC Officials with ANC deployees who are leading various government institutions that are implicated in the Public Protector report on the Nelson Mandela funeral.
State of readiness for the 54th National Conference
The ANC PEC received a report which detailed the BGM verification and delegates pre-registration process, this report confirmed a total of 546 branches that have successfully convened their Branch General Meetings with a total of 556 out of the 643 expected delegates have already been pre-registered.
The PEC adopted the consolidated report on the provincial policy positions as per the outcomes of the recent PGC commissions, this report summarised the key priority provincial policy positions in a simplified reader friendly document that will serve as guide to our delegates.
The PEC again confirmed the mandate given to the PEC by the recent PGC in terms of the consolidated outcomes of branch nominations as its view on leadership question towards the conference.
The PEC committed to pursue this mandate, in line with this mandate the PEC is of the view that all efforts should be made to unite the conference and avoid the possible bruising contest.
To this end the PEC will pursue the ongoing engagements with other provinces but these engagements should be rooted in organisational democracy and thus should not serve as an elite deal between leaders that may undermine the will of ANC branches.
SACP Provincial Conference
The PEC congratulates the South African Communist Party for a successful, disciplined and incident free Provincial Conference, we further congratulate the elected leadership noting that the re-election of both the Provincial Chairperson, Comrade Mzoleli Mrara and Secretary, Comrade Xolile Nqatha is critical in ensuring continuity and in building political stability in the province.
The ANC EC PEC is looking forward to a dynamic and progressive interaction with the newly elected leadership of the Party towards our shared responsibility of building a strong Alliance in pursuance of the National Democratic Revolution.
Public Protector’s Report
The ANC PEC noted that the handling of the Nelson Mandela funeral by the various spheres of government in our province left much to be desired.
The Public Protector’s reports points to poor planning, lack of foresight and an apparent failure to anticipate the known eventuality of the sad passing on of uTata, what is further unfortunate is that the entire government had been planning for this eventuality for at least two years in advance.
It is quite baffling therefore that when the unfortunate eventuality of Tata’s passing the Eastern Cape Government and Municipalities appeared not have a coherent plan in place and as such acted in a haphazard uncoordinated manner which in a way opened the door for corrupt elements to abuse the process.
We can’t help but conclude that this in a way points to lack of leadership and planning capacity across the different spheres of government within the Province.
In meeting with the leadership of the implicated government institutions the ANC PEC Officials, the PEC Officials emphasised the need for decisive action in implementing the remedial actions of the Public Protector and ensure that all those implicated in any form of wrong doing are held accountable and stern action is taken against them.
The PEC further noted the damning findings against the Director General of the Province and we are of the view that the DG should recuse herself or be placed on a special leave to give space to the full implementation of Public Protector’s remedial actions.
The Provincial Legislature as the institution that is constitutionally charged to provide oversight over the Provincial Government should take the matter further by establishing an Ad-hoc committee to process the report.
This Ad-hoc Committee should conduct extensive hearings into the matter including summoning all those who are cited in the report to give further evidence and or account for their involvement in the matter.
As the ANC PEC we will continuously monitor and provide the necessary political guidance to ensure the speedily implementation of the Public Protector’s remedial actions.
The ANC PEC further distances the ANC from any individual wrong-doing or misconduct, the individuals implicated in the report should be held individually liable and the good name of the ANC should not be dragged into the matter.
The ANC has not deployed any Comrade to public office to act in a way that violates the laws and constitution of the republic.
In this regard consistent and in concert with the previous organisational processes, the ANC Integrity Commission should look into all those ANC leaders that are implicated by Public Protector’s report and take the necessary action in this regard.
As we move towards the centenary celebrations of Tata Nelson Mandela, in honour of his memory and to continue his legacy we must declare war on corruption, as such we must ensure that all those who dragged his good name in the mud are brought to book and example is made out of them.
Provincial Broad-band contract
The newspaper reports on the provincial broad-band contract are a cause for alarm and if true point to blatant act of maladministration.
The alleged conduct of the DG and the blatant disregard of National Treasury is indeed worrisome.
We call on the Premier to act decisively on the matter and if there is any truth to the allegations we are of the view the contract must be cancelled, followed by a full investigation and all those responsible be subjected to disciplinary proceedings.
We wish all our delegates to the ANC’s 54th National Conference a safe journey.
Ends
Issued by:
ANC EC Communications
Enquiries:
ANC Media & Liaison Officer
Judy Mpetsheni
Mobile No: 0636878267/0731176194
ANC EC Communications Manager
Mobile No: 0849519924/0848439706
