The ANC Gauteng Provincial Conference is to be held from 3 to 5 October, 2014 _____
Sunday Independent.png ANC Gauteng summit to go ahead Mogomotsi Magome, Sunday Independent, Johannesburg, 14 September 2014 The Gauteng ANC's looming provincial conference is set to go ahead, although the party struggled to reach the 70 percent threshold of branch meetings held required for it to convene the meeting. The Sunday Independent understands that disputes and objections over branch general meetings (BGMs) in regions like Tshwane and Ekurhuleni are delaying the conference, as the branch meetings have struggled to reach a quorum. The Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Sedibeng regions of the province, in particular, have proven to be problematic, with some in Tshwane turning violent. Accusations of attendance registers having been tampered with have become rife, posing a danger of the conference being nullified by Luthuli House if they are proven to be true. The province had to rerun its provincial general council last year, where the acting provincial secretary, Boyce Maneli, was elected to the position of deputy provincial secretary. This came after a meeting of the national executive committee (NEC) decided to nullify it, citing BGMs that were not properly convened. The conference, a crucial one for Gauteng, is expected to elect new leadership and endorse policy proposals for the province to take to the ANC national general council next year. Gauteng ANC spokesman Nkenke Kekana said the delays were not really about the 70 percent threshold, but more about ensuring that as many branches as possible participated. "If there is a particular region where there are not enough branches taking part, you cannot confidently go to conference without them. That has been the main problem, but we have surpassed the 70 percent and are ready for conference." Kekana was also dismissive of the "two centres of power" debate, saying that collective leadership actually undermined this notion. "The fact that the PECs must select three names for the position of premier shows there's an expectation that the premier can be someone other than the chairperson. "We exercise collective leadership here in Gauteng - that is not an issue," he said. A Gauteng leader this week said the failure of branches to properly convene meetings was a direct result of members being disgruntled with the ANC and staying away from the meetings. But others have cited divisions over leadership preferences as being at the centre of the delays. The leader, who is not authorised to speak for the province, disputed that this was because of factional battles, even though he could not entirely rule this out. "I'm sure there is that element where people know they will lose conference in terms of leadership elections, but overwhelmingly it is the issue of being so despondent with the party that they see no reason to participate. "The majority of branches have been telling us about the importance of going into the conference united. It is not really a matter of leadership tussles," he said. However, it has also emerged that some branches are unhappy with the "two centres of power" scenario that is likely to emerge from the conference, which will see the leader of the party not being the premier of the province. The slate which is likely to win at the conference will see current chairman Paul Mashatile retaining his position and Gauteng Premier David Makhura elected as his deputy. Some have argued for Makhura to become chairman, but this would require an unlikely scenario that would see him challenging Mashatile for the position. If Mashatile does not return as chairman, he will be in a vulnerable position ahead of the ANC national conference in 2017. A West Rand lobbyist not in favour of Mashatile described this as the "two centres of power" that thrived when former Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane headed the provincial government, but was not in the provincial ANC leadership. "They (the leadership) were in agreement during Nomvula's term that the two centres of power was not ideal for the province and created problems for us, yet they want to create the same scenario now. "The alliance between Mashatile and Makhura can break down. It wouldn't be the first political alliance to do so," she said. But another lobbyist sympathetic to Mashatile dismissed this, saying tensions between Mokonyane and the provincial leadership were caused by individual styles of leadership, not ideological differences. "If Makhura is the deputy, he will be in the chairman's office. The two share the same vision, and he will lead the province in the way the provincial leadership desires. There are no problems there. "That is the argument. There will be no two centres of power, and they know it," he said. A regional ANC Youth League leader confirmed the fracas that had been taking place in some of the branches, saying the party would be facing many objections before the conference went ahead. "They are stealing branches everywhere. In some cases, there is no meeting that took place, but attendance registers are distributed for people to sign, and they are submitted as if there was a meeting. "That is why there are so many objections. The practice of stealing branches has been happening for many years, and we are not surprised. But they will not get away with it. "Look at Tshwane, for instance. How can a provincial conference take place before the regional conference? It is because they know the regional conference will not produce the result they want," he said. 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