Free State ANC battles to root out factionalism in its branches

The African Nation Congress (ANC) in Free State is marred with many hurdles within its branches, as factionalism is the order of the day for the divided party in the province.

Despite, visits from the party’s heavyweights both Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe, where both leaders echoed ‘end with factionalism’, it appears as if is still a long route for the governing party in the province to have a unified voice in what is called ANC’s renewal project.

Following the resignation of former President Jacob Zuma as head of state in 2017, and with his successor President Cyril Ramaphosa taking over the baton same year, the party faced deeper divisions, where in Free State, party members opted to institutionalise factionalism in their ranks.

It became even worse, when the political future of former premier Ace Magashule hanged in the balance, following corruption cases brought against him, which led to his suspension as ANC secretary general. 

Those, close to Magashule, opted to align themselves with the new dawn, President Ramaphosa faction, and this resulted into the disunity within the province.

Due to the factional lines, this resulted in the matter being escalated to the court of law, where the province had to appoint an interim leadership following a court order, which disbanded the elected structures. 

On Monday, 11 April, the Interim Provincial Working Committee (IPWC) convened a meeting to reflect on the interactions of Presidential Imbizo, where President Ramaphosa and cabinet ministers engaged with community members past weekend.

The IPWC also assessed work in progress undertaken to renew and unite divided structures.

“The assessment took place in the midst of the branch assessment being undertaken by the IPC on branches in order to determine the strength of the ANC on the ground,” said ANC Free State spokesperson Oupa Khoabane.

“On the basis of the reflections made about the level of strength and functionality of many branches in the province, the IPWC decided to reconstitute branches that have shown to be weak and in disarray,” further explained Khoabane.

“This process shall be undertaken immediately in order to enable the branches to position themselves appropriately to lead communities in challenges facing them.

“This work is meant to empower the branches to command organs of people’s power to be in a position to service the communities in the fight against social ills,” he added.

Meanwhile, several motion of no confidence has been filed in various municipalities, however, Khoabane said such motions have no intention of improving services but more to destabilise the functionality of the institutions.

“The IPWC is worried by the Councils that are having notices of motion of no confidence against various mayors in the province.

“The people are facing challenges of service delivery and unemployment, The ANC appeal to all councillors to focus their energies to improving services,” he said.