Bring back Fransman for elections - Western Cape Youth League
14 April 2016
Cape Town – The Western Cape ANC must consider reinstating suspended provincial chairperson Marius Fransman, the provincial youth league said on Thursday.
This would strengthen the party ahead of the upcoming local government elections, as people were hungry for his leadership, ANCYL secretary Andile Mbali told News24.
The African National Congress had asked Fransman to step aside pending the outcome of an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against him. He allegedly sexually harassed a young woman who was accompanying him to the ANC’s January 8celebrations in North West.
Mbali said the organisation had not started preparing for the elections in the province because of these issues. He said they were eating away at the party and hoped they would be speedily resolved.
He stressed that the league was not challenging the ANC’s authority, but merely expressing concerns.
"To strengthen the Western Cape, we need to have all leaders who have been elected to come back and work for the organisation."
Fransman visited a number of voting stations during the last voter registration weekend, Mbali said. This had shown the league that everyone needed to be involved in preparations for the elections.Mbali questioned the return of provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs to the fold, after the ANC’s national disciplinary committee suspended him for 18 months for assaulting a colleague last year. The sentence was suspended for three years.
Mbali said Jacobs should be allowed to deal with the criminal case of assault case he was still facing. On Monday, Fransman criticised the provincial ANC for returning Jacobs to his post. It showed inconsistencies that ordinary members would not overlook, he said. The provincial ANC said earlier this week that it would discuss these issues at its upcoming PEC meeting, and not in public.
Mbali’s sentiments on Fransman were echoed by West Coast region's ANCYL leader, Johan Muller. In a letter, he sent to the province’s ANCYL structures, he asked why Fransman "has been left on the outside?"."We cannot remain silent any longer in the blatant inconsistencies that are taking place on a provincial level," he wrote.
This article first appeared on News24, see here.
