ANC faces mass defections as members join SACP in North West
· Citizen
Many ANC branch leaders and councillors from North West municipalities have defected to the South African Communist Party (SACP) and are contesting under the SACP’s banner in the 4 November local elections.
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In response, the ANC plans to pre-empt these defections by expelling the members before they officially leave.
ANC plans to expel members defecting to SACP
However, this strategy may not succeed, as many incumbent councillors are already in conflict with the party in their municipalities.
According to ANC insiders, the party’s North West provincial executive committee (PEC) has ordered an investigation into the betrayal involving its own branch executive committee (BEC) members and sitting councillors.
This group includes a ward and proportional representation councillors, including mayoral committee members, a chief whip and a former mayor who jumped ship to the SACP en masse while still serving the ANC.
Sources said regional coordinators and secretaries have been instructed to identify those defecting to other parties.
While most have chosen the SACP, some opted to affiliate with the Patriotic Alliance (PA), uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party and the SLK Independent Party. Several ANC members have also opted to contest as independent candidates in the elections.
The SACP candidate lists include several senior local ANC members, such as Boipelo Marekoa, a PEC member and MMC for public safety in Rustenburg; Thabo Mashomo, Rustenburg’s chair of the public accounts committee; Mojalefa Mosupa, Matlosana MMC for sport, arts, and culture; Letswane Ramothibi, the ANC chief whip at Naledi municipality; and Pitso Gulane, who is Naledi council speaker and a ward 3 councillor, presently running as an independent candidate.
Defectors include MMCs, chief whips and speakers
The investigation is targeting ANC BEC and branch executive task team members, public representatives, and others deployed in state organisations.
The defectors are spread across all ANC regions, such as Bojanala, Ngaka Modiri Molema, Kenneth Kaunda and Dr Ruth Segomotso Mompati.
In Rustenburg, seven ANC members have defected to the SACP while Madibeng ward councillors Papi Ratele, Keaobaka Sefike and Nick Rakolle are appearing as SACP candidates.
Other municipalities in North West are also seeing the ANC lose ward councillors such as Kabelo Letsatsi (Moses Kotane), Thapelo Sehemo (Ditsobotla), Alfred Thale and Bernard Kenosi (both from Ramotshere Moiloa), Mlungisi Mbele (Matlosana) and Obakeng Kgonare (Mahikeng), who went to MK party.
At Naledi municipality, aside from Gulane, the SACP has also gained ANC councillor Rebecca Molefe.
In Greater Taung, Onkarabile Tong is an SACP candidate while in the same council, Daddy Gaeralwe, an ANC ward councillor and former mayor, appears on the PA list.