THE ANC NEC STATEMENT ON THE OUTCOME OF THE SPECIAL NEC 

The African National Congress met in a special NEC meeting on the 19th May 2014 at Saint George hotel in Pretoria. The Special NEC meeting followed a meeting of the National Officials and National Working Committee meetings that had considered submission of Premier candidates by ANC governed provinces.  The NEC meeting lasted into the night as result of robust discussions in considering the submissions. We had to ensure that the NEC exercised its Constitutional role of engaging on each submission and it's merits.  Matters that dominated the discussions related to the need for strong leadership, the need to fast-track service delivery in all provinces and to ensure fair gender representation.

While acknowledging that provinces are free to nominate any person, the NEC was concerned with the male domination of nominations and in this regard the NEC agreed that going to the next National General Council, nomination regulations must be fine-tuned to ensure that selection processes have outcomes that guarantees gender parity with regards to nomination and election of ANC Premier candidates. This approach is to avoid a mechanical approach to achieve gender equity.

In recognizing the need to have gender equity and in consistency with our policy decisions of women empowerment, the NEC agreed that provincial EXCO's must comprise up to 60% of females as a way of further strengthening the role of women in government. This will ensure that women will be at a high level of decision making and policy implementation. The meeting also agreed that in provinces where a Premier is a male, the Speaker must be a female.

We will not go into details of the discussions as these were varied and inward looking. We were however able at the end to achieve consensus on the candidates that were under consideration.  We want to emphasize that while we do not have a structure of Premiers we had to be alive to the need of ensuring that the outcome is sensitized to the need for women empowerment.

Our discussions were guided  by Resolution number 57 of Polokwane which confines the NEC to consider only three names submitted by each province. The Resolution reads as follows; 'At provincial government level, the PEC should recommend a pool of names of not more than three cadres in order of priority who should be considered for Premiership and the NEC will make a final decision based on the pool of names submitted by the PEC'.

The following are names of Premiers and Provincial Legislatures Speakers:

The NEC has expressed confidence in the ability of this team of Premiers and Provincial Speakers who will be at the helm of provincial governments and legislatures to advance its commitments on service delivery and advance it's transformation agenda. We believe that their collective experience in governance and leadership will vindicate the ANC and the mandate it has been given by the overwhelming majority of South Africans.  We want to assure all South Africans that we have selected a winning team that has their interests at heart.

The ANC wants to dismiss with contempt the story written by Moipone Malefane and George Matlala today in Sowetan which falsely alleges that Comrade Baleka Mbete has fallen sick after a meeting with President during which she was told that she will not be appointed as Deputy President. This mischievous allegation is typical of attempts to denigrate and cast aspersions on our leaders.

Comrade Baleka has availed herself to go back to Parliament following a request by the ANC for her to return to Parliament. We can confirm that no such meeting took place and that the alleged discussion is only imagined by those behind the story and their sources. The ANC demands an immediate retraction from the Sowetan.

Statement issued by Jessie Duarte, Deputy-Secretary General, African National Congress, May 20 2014

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