ANC EC statement following the 1st ordinary PEC in 2015

THE ANC EC PEC STATEMENT FOLLOWING THE PEC MEETING THAT TOOK PLACE OVER TWO DAYS, THE 1^st & 2^nd MARCH IN CALATA HOUSE

The ANC EC PEC had its first Ordinary Provincial Executive Meeting of 2015 on the 1^st and 2^nd of March in Calata House.

The Ordinary Provincial Executive Meeting of the ANC is a meeting that looks at length on broader organisational matter, assesses the performance of the organisation in previous year and approves the programs and plan of the year ahead. It deals with various reports of ongoing programs and tasks from various ANC PEC Committees, through Provincial Working Committee and updates on national issues. Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC is a political Provincial structure that implements the political agenda of the ANC at a provincial level in between the Provincial Conferences and it reports to the Provincial Conference after 4 years. As we all know that recently the ANC mandate was renewed by majority of voters in general elections held on the 7^th May 2014. This leadership then is task to carry that mandate on behalf of all citizens, not only those who voted ANC in power.

DELIBERATIONS OF THE MEETING: POLITICAL OVERVIEW

The PEC took the whole day deliberating on the political input by the ANC EC Chairperson and critical issues raised are;

The moment of silence was observed in respect of the late Mhlobo Wenene DJ Saba Mbixane. The PEC agreed that like many, Saba Mbixa had life well lived. He is one hero the whole country can confirm his work as that of uniting the people of the country. He was indeed one of the best in the arts and cultural industries in which he new how put together creative programs that unites people. We view his work as one of the contributors in the nation building. We would like to say, those who are left behind, they have that huge responsibility to carry the flag and drive the legacy of his work.

Performance of the PEC

Generally, the PEC is quite happy with the functioning of the organisation to this far. The PEC is quite confident that it is in the right track to deliver unity and cohesion of the province. The PEC is fairly comfortable with the response of all its structures in dealing with matters they are supposed to deal with. The PEC is happy with the manner in which the Alliance is shaping its ability to deal with matters to do with relationship building and political responsibility, there is remarkable progress in working together. The PEC meeting confirmed that generally there is consensus on what is expected to be done by ANC structures in regions than before; there is work in progress in building structural ability to do work as expected.

CRITICAL MATTERS

The meeting came out strong on the following critical matter about our organisation.

Unity

The meeting observed that some of its structures in particular regions and branches are still challenged by ability to unite more especially after conferences and this has hampered organisational performance both internally and in government at a local level. The case in point is Nelson Mandela Metro and Chris Hani Region. The PEC put strong emphasis on the importance of unity in the organisation in all structures of the movement and in government. It reaffirmed and maintained its position that effective leadership in the province can only be achieved through a united ANC, therefore, it calls for all its structures to demonstrate at all times the collective and structural ability in dealing with both organisational, government and societal matter. This is one way we can lead the society of the Eastern Cape. A united ANC that’s speaks with one voice is not an option but a must and that’s what people are expecting.

Factions

The meeting took a swipe and discussed at length the continued existence of factions and their danger thereof in the organisation. The Provincial leadership agrees that this is one of the biggest challenges the movement is facing, it is indeed an internal matter cause by ourselves. It notes that this problem is mainly caused by individual groups that mostly lose elections in a conference and those with personal interest and want to use the organisation to pursue their interest. This problem destabilizes the functioning of the organisation because and its eating the fabric of our caders because the agenda of factions are not defined in the ANC constitution and therefore they must be discouraged and demobilized, the meeting agreed.

Corruption

The meeting came quite strong again on the matter of corruption as the biggest mole that’s eating up the organisation and the society as whole. The meeting still maintains the ANC position to strengthen its fight against corruption. The meeting notes the progress made by law enforcement agencies on the cases of individuals finalized and now sent behind bars as a result of corrupt practices eating in the government purse. The meeting also noted the ongoing investigations on various government institutions, some affecting leaders in the ANC. The meeting also noted the continued sensational reporting on alleged corruption incidents by certain news papers with names of both provincial and national mentioned and dragged unnecessarily. The PEC said this damages the integrity and moral standing of the ANC in the society it leads. As much as it understands the principle of not guilty until proven guilty, these matters are of great concern for the movement. The meeting strongly cautioned ANC leaders and members that are involved in scandals of corruption. This continued bad public image can never be tolerated.

Discipline

The leadership is quite happy with the levels of discipline amongst members of the ANC now than before, this reflects a more stable organisation, an organisation in progress. We used to have a number of cases of ill-discipline where individuals would do things that drag the organisation in disrepute. When disciplined, some used to take the organisation to court and that was a reflection of lack of understanding to the side of how the ANC work. We continue to deal with those cases of individual that continues to undermine the constitutional authority of our organisational structures. We have a constitution that tells how we do things and we expect every member to comply with the dictates of it.

STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS

The PEC welcomed the State of the Province Address as delivered by the Premier and reflected its confidence in the leadership of a well focused government under Cde Pumulo Mussaule. It also indicated its clear expectations from the departmental MEC’s as they prepared to deliver their policy speeches.

DELIBERATIONS OF THE MEETING: ORGANISATION AND OPERATIONAL MATTERS

The PEC is satisfied with the hard work done by its Provincial Working Committee in implementing the PEC decisions and looking at organisational matters seeking attention. We commend the well-functioning PSO which is at the center of all operations of the organisation, without its sober mind and commitment in dealing with matters; we would not have a responsive and well organized organisation. We take off our hats for all those who contribute to the day to day functioning of the organisation.

Our Leagues

We observe the well improved status of all our leagues. They are now part of the PEC, working well and contribute to all PEC structures to drive the program of the organisation. The ANCWL as the only league with the task team has reported serious progress in establishing its structures on the ground and the PEC is very excited to finally have a functioning ANCWL. It is now going to regional conferences and later provincial conference in the next six month.

On Nkosazana Zuma Commission

The meeting noted the challenges it faced as a result of the implementation of the commission recommendations, however it was happy with the progress made. The meeting cautioned itself that in future as we prepare local government elections, we should avoid any occurrences that will lead to having irregularities in the process of ward candidate identification.

Regional Interventions

Having made decisions to intervene in Chris Hani and Nelson Mandela Metro, as the PEC we are quite happy of the progress made in stabilizing organisational operations in the two regions. In Chris Hani, we note that the RTT is doing quite a very good job in preparing the region to a conference; we are working close with them to assist that process. In Nelson Mandela Metro, a task team has just been appointed and already there is work in place. The PEC has committed itself to work very close with the task team to make sure it put together an intense program, the region is more vulnerable, we are going towards local government elections and we need to bring back that region to the people of Nelson Mandela. In the next six months, we will assess the state of the organisation and its readiness to go to the conference and then if we are happy, we guide the region to its regional conference. We are planning to put all stops to assist the region. Our Provincial Elections Team will soon launch a focused program of Nelson Mandela. The intervention in Nelson Mandela is ongoing. We have efforts expected by government soon to intervene in the challenges faced by the municipality, we wish those could be implemented immediately.

Demarcation

The ANC agrees that there are unviable municipalities. Our structures are working close with government to see how restructuring can be done to resolve challenges cause by, otherwise in principle, we agree that we must do away with unviable municipality.

2015 Program

The ANC has adopted a very intense program for the year 2015. The call by the President on the January 8^th Statement called for back to basics. We will be rolling out campaigns and programs that are focusing on talking directly with the people of the province. Regions and branches will all focus on giving attention on what people in communities have said we must do. We are strengthening our structures to be ready. We have audit taking place and that will give us a clear picture of how ready our branches are. We will be taking 7 regions into a conference in the next 5 months. We will be embarking on a program to prepare our structures at all levels to be ready for local government elections. There are bi-elections that continue to take place and we are quite happy with their outcomes as they continue to show that people have confidence only in the ANC in such that we are expecting a no contest in most ward in the next local government.

END

This is a statement prepared for the ANC EC PEC on the occasion of the PEC meeting that took place over two days, the statement must be attributed to the ANC EC Provincial Secretary, Cde OSCAR MABUYANE.

We will arrange one on one with the leadership on request, please contact Pindile for follow up and enquiries.