Leaders must pay attention to ANC members, says Gwede Mantashe

ANC national chair Gwede Mantashe has warned members of the ANC in the Free State to guard against people who would do “anything and everything” to collapse the party.  

“We need to guard against the comrades who are prepared to do anything and everything at their disposable to ensure that there is no organisation in the Free State.

“We must keep our eyes open because this province is important and it has undercut itself and underplayed its role.”

Mantashe was speaking at the much-anticipated ninth ANC Free State provincial elective conference on Saturday. The conference was disrupted on Friday when a group of ANC members stormed the registration venue bringing the process to a temporary halt.

TimesLIVE previously reported that the Free State and Western Cape were the only two provinces that could not convene their conferences before the party’s national conference last month.

The countless delays in the Free State were credited to clashes between branches still beholden to former Free State strongman Ace Magashule and branches pushing the renewal agenda.

In his opening remarks Mantashe told delegates that many people believe there is no ANC.

“They believe it’s better when there is a loose arrangement where we invite each other as friends to activities of the ANC. It’s a fallacy. As a result of this, any effort to rebuild the ANC will always be [faced with] challenges in the Free State either through the courts or through disruptions.”

He said the quality of the membership was a reflection of its leaders.

“If the leadership does not pay attention to its members then the membership will not grow and they are going to disrupt the conferences like they did yesterday when they blocked the roads and did all those things.

“Some of us, even want to destroy it but we claim that it’s our organisation. So leadership must pay attention to branches and party members individually.”

Another thing that the province needed to guard against, Mantashe said, was the culture of some members who generally believe that the Free State is better off without formal ANC structures.

“Actually I was preparing to go back (home) late but I am here today because I said we must be patient and observe the tendencies of the Free State where if you disrupt activities of your own organisation, you are better off.”

Mantashe said systems, processes and resources can be put in place to fight this.

He also said members should guard against the culture of walkouts when branch, regional or provincial meetings are being held. “When people walk out we must know that that is anarchy and that it must not stop us from doing the work of the ANC.”

Instead of walking out, Mantashe said members must get used to the culture of engaging one another face to face. “Then the organisation is going to rebuild itself.”

Mantashe said when he is attacked on WhatsApp groups, he leaves but returns after a few weeks. “You know what I like about those WhatsApp groups? I get the views of the people and a bad tendency growing in the ANC is this ability of a leader of the ANC taking a public platform and insult the ANC and almost write the obituary of the ANC and that come 2024 it’s finished.

“How does the ANC die in 2024 when we are here? ... The ANC cannot be finished in 2024 if we are this many here.”

He said members have the responsibility to support decisions of meetings, even if the decisions do not favour them.

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