Lekota to address mass meeting

Johannesburg – Some idea of the strength of support in the Gauteng region for the national convention called for next week by dissident ANC members may be gauged on Thursday at Orange Farm when former defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota is scheduled to address a mass meeting.

Invitations to attend have been sent to churches and community groups in Orange Farm, Sebokeng, Evaton, Finetown and surrounding areas.

“But anyone who wishes to come to the multi-purpose centre in Orange Farm Extension six will be welcome,” said convention spokesperson Mbulelo Ncedana.

The meeting, scheduled to start at 11:30, is one of several planned over coming days, to discuss arrangements for and the orientation of, the convention, which is planned for next weekend, October 31 – November 2.

- SAPA

Convention plans under way

Cape Town – Plans for a national convention to discuss the formation of a new political party were on track, co-convenor Mbhazima Shilowa said on Tuesday.

Shilowa, who recently quit as Gauteng premier, said a preparatory committee for the convention was elected at a meeting in Johannesburg on Sunday.

The body included former ANC chairperson Terror Lekota, Shilowa, former ANC national executive member Charlotte Lobe, former Cosatu president Willie Madisha and Anele Nda, a member of the Youth Commission in the Eastern Cape.

Former ANC Dullah Omar regional secretary in the Western Cape Mbulelo Ncedana was appointed national spokesman.

A website, www.sanationalconvention.com, was also launched.

Shilowa said eight of the country’s nine provinces sent representatives to the meeting with KwaZulu-Natal being the exception.

The meeting dealt with the logistics involved in the convention and decided it would be held between October 31 and November 2.

The objective was to seek “consensus on a set of values, defend democratic space and concentrate on how to speed up the realisation of second generation rights in our constitution”, Shilowa said.

Lekota has said the convention would be held in Bloemfontein on November 2.

A venue is yet to be announced.

- SAPA

ANC members resign

On Sunday 19 October hundreds of members of the ANC resigned at a gathering in Philippi, Cape Town. The meeting was addressed by ex-premier of Gauteng, Sam Shilowa.

Dec 16 launch for new party?

Bloemfontein – Former ANC chair Mosiuoa Lekota said on Sunday the planned national political convention was about an idea and not about an individual.

“Nobody is going to threaten us, it is not about an individual, it is about an idea.”

Lekota urged about 2 000 people in Bloemfontein to go back to their communities and elect “people they trust” to represent them at the national convention expected to be held in Bloemfontein on November 2.

“There would be an agenda on how to defend the Constitution,” Lekota said.

He said those attending would have to decide if they wanted to organise themselves in some “organisation” or formation.

Lekota said the formation would then have to go back to the communities for a name and colours and (possibly) report back on December 16 – Reconcilation Day – for the launch of that party.

Huge support

He said there was huge support from all sectors for the convention and people were eager to “launch a political hope for all”.

“They are business people, professionals, people from the countryside, farmers.”

Lekota said these people, who have talked to him, “want to be free, want to live in a democracy”.

“They will have to kill all, if they want to stop it,” Lekota said, referring to ANCYL president Julius Malema’s past utterances aimed at those against ANC president Jacob Zuma.

He said a supporter of the national convention should be a man or woman who wants peace, reconciliation and a better life for all.

Lekota indicated the ANC had violated the Freedom Charter by not following aspects of freedom of association, the freedom of choice and equality before the law, all aspects contained in the country’s Constitution.

Lekota said that he would not resign from the ANC as many party members had done the past week.

He said if the ANC disciplines him he wants to be in a position to hear the reasons and be able to answer to them.

“Otherwise you would say I am a coward, I want to explain why I said that (reasons for disciplinary hearing).”

Lekota said he deeply believed it would be the right way to go.

- SAPA

ANC mass resignations planned

Langa 10 October 2008

Cape Town – Dissident Western Cape ANC members angered at the treatment of regional secretary Mbulelo Ncedana, plan to resign en masse on Sunday.

According to several members who plan to resign, the public declarations of resignation will be in sympathy with Ncedana and 10 other senior members who resigned from the party on Thursday.

The mass resignation was planned to take place at a midday rally at the Naluxolo Primary School in Samora, Phillipi on the Cape Flats.

Phillipi has one of the largest ANC memberships in the Dullah Omar region, covering the Cape Town metro, which claims more than 30 000 members.

- SAPA

New party ‘can threaten ANC’

Johannesburg – The new political party expected to be formed soon by breakaway ANC leaders will pose a strong opposition to the ruling party, academic Shadrack Gutto said on Friday.

Speaking at the Black Management Forum’s (BMF) conference on next year’s general election, he said the “ANC conventionists” appeared to have the potential to attract a significant portion of votes from the traditional ANC constituencies as well as constituencies of the other political parties.

This would, however, not place the new political party in a position to lead the country, but would likely place it right below it, posting a strong opposition for the ANC.

“They will probably not emerge from the elections as the biggest party – the ANC is likely to still occupy this position – but they will not be a fringe party; they may actually emerge as the second biggest party after the ANC,” he said.

With the strong opposition front from the new party, Gutto said the ANC might be forced to forge relations with other oppositions parties.

However, “the dust will settle” after the elections, but the country would have to work hard to regain its regional and international leadership role.

Gutto also outlined a trail of incidents from Polokwane to the current “hostile situation” within the ANC, and warned the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), security agencies, and law enforcement institutions needed to be alert and prepared to contain possible violence during the upcoming campaign and election.

- SAPA

Dissidents working non-stop

Bloemfontein – ANC dissidents on Friday said they were working around the clock to organise a political convention in Bloemfontein that would be addressed by former party chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota.

This follows the public resignations of 10 ANC members, some former councillors and ANC branch leaders in Mangaung (Bloemfontein), Naledi (Dewetsdorp) and Mantsopa (Ladybrand).

The group said the current political environment in the ANC was not a conducive one.

“We are prepared to be the foot soldiers for an alternative vehicle to fend for democracy,” the now former ANC branch chairperson in Botshabelo, Moleleki Sekhalo, said.

The group said they had reached a crossroad in the ANC, an organisation they loved.

Many of the branch chairpersons described how their branches had been sidelined because they moved against the current ANC leadership nationally and provincially.

Planned convention cancelled

“We found out that we have no space to debate issues or to participate in politics,” Sekhalo said.

A planned political convention in Winburg in the Free State on Sunday was also cancelled.

Former Free State MEC and Welkom businessman Vax Mayekiso said the planned meeting had to be cancelled due to various reasons and was postponed to next weekend in Welkom.

“It was a strenuous and frustrating week for us – the locked-out members of the ANC,” Mayekiso said.

He said when they applied for a venue at the Winburg municipality they were informed that no facility was available.

It was reported in the local media that a deposit paid for the Town Hall was wrongly accepted by the municipality, because the venue had already been booked for another purpose.

The report said the Town Hall, as well as places such as the Winburg show grounds had bookings.

Police units deployed

Mayekiso said other reasons for the cancellation was because police units, referred to as the ‘old apartheid style riot squad’, had been deployed to the town since Friday.

“We also learned that troublemakers or foot soldiers have been imported from other areas to Winburg starting from this morning [Friday]. They would visit every house to intimidate everybody not to attend Sunday’s meeting.”

Mayekiso said it would be wise to postpone the Winburg convention to next week in Welkom where there was an abundance of private facilities to be used.

“We, therefore call on everybody who wanted to visit our event [in Winburg] to attend the Bloemfontein event to be addressed by Terror Lekota on Sunday.”

The provincial convention was planned for Sunday at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein.

ANC denies intimidation charge

Free State ANC spokesperson Teboho Sikisi has denied acts of intimidation in Winburg.

“We launched our election campaign two months ago and every weekend we go into our communities.”

Sikisi said every community has 100 ANC volunteers to do a door-to-door campaign.

He said they focus on voter education and registration and any acts of intimidation should be reported to police.

“It cannot be [acts of intimidation],” he said.

Sikisi said the ANC did not decide where the police were deployed to.

“They probably went there because a potential explosive situation might have developed with the meeting on Sunday. I think they [police] decided that for themselves,” he said.

- SAPA