Infighting is over 'incomes' that comes with positions
The streets of several townships in Tshwane were burning after the announcement of the name of an African National Congress (ANC) stalwart Thoko Didiza on Monday 20 June by the ANC as its mayoral candidate for the capital city in the 3 August local government elections. At least one person was reportedly shot dead in this ANC versus ANC infighting.
It would be simplistic to suggest that the internal divisions and the violence engulfing the ANC in Tshwane emanate from Didiza's name. In fact her name may not necessarily be the primary problem. The ANC in Tshwane has been deeply divided. Relations with its allies have broken down or reduced to relations with factions within the REC.
It would similarly be simplistic to suggest that Didiza's name was brought about as an intervention only after the three names of the ANC deputy regional chairperson Mapiti Matsena, followed by Karin Littler and Susan Ngobeni submitted by the regional executive committee (REC) to the provincial executive committee (PEC) were not accepted. The fact is that Didiza's name has been doing rounds long before the three names were not accepted.
The situation dealt a blow to the relevance under the circumstances of the ANC's 52nd national conference resolution on the selection of mayoral candidates. The resolution empowered RECs to submit three names to PECs to make final decisions on mayoral candidates based on the names submitted. Neither does the resolution provide for RECs to consult ANC alliance partners, or its own branches for that matter, in identifying the names and for meaningful participation by alliance partners in final decision making.
Interventions appointing a candidate outside of the three names were not foreseen. The death knell of the resolution, which did not provide for that intervention, sounded in Nelson Mandela Bay when the current mayor, Danny Jordan was brought in to ensure a turnaround under similar conditions.