ANC regional spokesperson said proceedings are likely to resume on Friday once all the disputes are resolved.
The ANC in the Norman Mashabane region in Limpopo is holding its regional elective conference on Friday at Karibu Lodge, outside Tzaneen in the Mopani district municipality. However, the conference, which is expected to elect new leadership for the next three years, is facing hurdles.
Both the provincial and national dispute resolution committees still need to settle all the disputes lodged by branches and branch members in the run-up to the conference.
ANC Norman Mashabane regional spokesperson Hassani Peter Ngobeni told The Citizen at the party’s regional offices in Tzaneen on Friday morning that the national dispute resolution committee (NDRC) is currently dealing with 19 disputes from the 129 branches.
“Some disputes were lodged with the Limpopo provincial disputes resolution committee and those who could not get joy, escalated their displeasure to the national committee,” said Ngobeni.
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He said the conference is set to take place from Friday to Sunday.
“If all the disputes are attended to and resolved today, the conference will be able to sit today and begin with its business of the day. From the reports I am getting, we are likely to proceed today,” explained Ngobeni.
The disputes lodged, Ngobeni said, ranged from scanner problems leading to reports claiming the branch sat successfully, while it did not, to some delegates appearing on elective conference lists despite not attending branch general meetings.
Among the top five positions, current chair, Pule Shayi, will face off against current secretary, Goodman Mtileni. The mayor for the Letaba local municipality Dagma Mamanyoha faces Tzaneen municipality mayor Gerson Molapisane. Corporate services director at the Mopani district municipality, Sonia Ngobeni, will vie for the position of regional secretary with Teekay Mogale. Mayor for the Maruleng local municipality Tsheko Mosolwa is against mayor of the Ba-Phalaborwa local municipality Mariam Malatji for the position of deputy secretary. Mayor for the Giyani local municipality, Thandi Zitha, is tipped for the position of party regional treasurer.
If elected, the new leadership will be expected to resolve serious issues such as road construction and regravelling in the aftermath of the floods that hit the region in recent weeks.
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Popularly known in Mzansi as the food basket of the country, the Mopani region is blessed with fertile soil that produces citrus fruits and vegetables that are exported to countries such as China, the US, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom, among others. The region also contains big orchards that help feed the nation. Despite this, the majority of farmers in the region depend on subsistence farming while many others live from hand to mouth.
The Citizen interviewed locals in Tzaneen about what they want from the new leadership.
Khelodae Mashaba of Bolobedu said she expects the ANC leaders to turn agricultural fields in Tzaneen into agri-processing factories in order to feed the more than 1.2 million people in Mopani on a daily basis. She also said jobs are scarce. “They must create jobs and equally fight crime and escalating gender-based violence,” she said
Another resident, Phillip Dipepenene Machubeni of Morutji Village, said he expects water provision to be prioritised through the protracted Giyani Bulk Water project. The R4.5 billion project began in August 2014 after former president Jacob Zuma visited the area. It was planned to be completed in three years, but after 12 years, it is still unable to give all communities from the intended 55 villages clean running water.
“We have been waiting for the completion of this project since the donkey years. But now we have hope that the upcoming leadership will bring it to its completion. If only they could give us water, we will know that the ANC was serious about its promises in 1994, promises of a better life for all,” said Machubeni.
