Statement of the African National Congress following the Special National Executive Committee held on the 22nd September 2017

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress met in a Special meeting held on the 22nd September 2017 at the St. Georges Hotel, Irene, Gauteng.

The meeting was called to discuss the Roadmap to the 54th National Conference to be held from the 16th to the 20th Decemberat the Nasrec Expo Centre, Johannesburg, Gauteng as well as the report of the court case brought against the ANC and members of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) in KwaZulu-Natal.

The NEC approved the roadmap to the National Conference, taking note of the following milestones:

1. Membership audits of eight (8) provinces have now been completed, with the Eastern Cape being the only outstanding province
2. On completion of the auditing process, delegations of the various provinces shall be allocated proportionally and consequently allocate delegates to branches proportionally 
3. Branch General Meetings to consolidate branch positions on policy, nominate candidates for election to the NEC and nominate branch delegates will now commence
4. The electoral commission, its terms of reference as well as the nomination guidelines have been approved by the NEC and these will be circulated to all branches to guide the BGMs
5. All objections and appeals with be dealt with during November 2017. NEC has directed that all appeals must be submitted within 48 hours from the conclusion of the BGM for them to be entertained. 

The NEC reaffirmed the decision to advise provinces not to hold provincial and regional conferences during the last two months prior to the National Conference. This is to avoid these conferences being impacted on by National Conference dynamics. Conferences that are long overdue though should not use this decision to further delay their conferences, it is only those conferences due between October and November 2017 that can be postponed and held in the first quarter of 2018. 

The NEC has full confidence in the judiciary and accepts the judgment of the full bench of the Pietermaritzburg High Court in the matter “Dube and Others v Zikalala and Others” in relation to the 2015 ANC KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Conference. NEC however felt there was a need for further consultation with legal counsel to gain greater clarity on the decision of the court as it deals with Rule 17(2)(1) of the ANC Constitution and further engage the possibility of success in appealing the judgement. 

The NEC mandated the National Working Committee (NWC) to establish a strong, inclusive and unifying Provincial Task Team (PTT) which will be tasked with preparing for a Provincial Conference in KwaZulu-Natal.

The NEC does not believe that the ANC should continue to give reason to the courts to intervene in the matters of the organization, which should be managed politically. The ANC must take charge of the challenges facing the movement and deal with them decisively.

Further the NEC will place for consideration by the National Conference the amendment of Rule 17(2)(1) of the ANC Constitution to ensure its interpretation is not mechanical nor at odds with its intent.

These decisions were underpinned by two primary considerations being to find a unifying solution and reasserting the authority of the ANC, rather than the courts, in the political management and administration of the issues confronting the ANC. We must ensure that at all times, when disputes arise within the movement, we must resolve them ourselves.

The NEC was unanimous on the need to ensure that this ruling and consequent process must represent a unifying moment for the organization and membership of KwaZulu-Natal. 

Statement issued by Gwede Mantashe, Secretary General, African National Congress, 22 September 2017