ANC disbands Western Cape PEC and forms new Provincial Task Team

The ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) has decided to restructure the Western Cape provincial leadership, a move that has received mixed reactions.

Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula announced the disbandment of the Western Cape Provincial Executive Committee (PEC), which will be replaced by a Provincial Task Team led by former Chairperson Ebrahim Rasool.

This change comes ahead of the National General Council (NGC), set to take place from 8 to 12 December at NASREC, and in preparation for the upcoming local government elections. Mbalula said that the party's goal is to strengthen its branches before the elections.

In a statement last week, the ANC said that the NEC commends the discipline and dedication displayed by ANC structures and members in the Western Cape throughout this period of transition.

“The reconfiguration is not a punitive measure against the PEC but a proactive and corrective step to enhance the movement’s effectiveness in one of the most strategically important provinces of the Republic.”

The party said that this intervention comes at a time when the overall national electoral performance was impacted by a decline in key provinces, including the Western Cape, which saw a 9% drop in results.

The immediate task in the Western Cape is to rebuild ANC branches, leagues, and regional structures so they can function as vibrant instruments of community development and political education.

A source said that they are very happy with the reconfiguration, as the previous ANC PEC had been struggling to re-energise the organisation, due to deep factionalism and a move away from attending to organisational issues.

Another concern that was raised was the large number of people who have been included in the PTT.

“It's a big group of people. They may have interpersonal dynamics which should be expected in circumstances such as this… I think our leadership didn't want to be seen as being punitive by removing others or substituting a directly-elected PEC with a PTT, in complete disregard of the sets of skills (people possess).

The source said some elements of the PTT are part of the party's problems.

“There'll no longer be a time when the ANC will enter into a coalition only to facilitate positions for individuals, as opposed to entering into coalitions to better serve the people of the smaller municipalities in the Western Cape.”

The source said that the ANC has been overweighed by selfish interests and personal gratification. They said that they hope the PTT will bring up the issue of candidate selection at the NGC, as the current process is open to manipulation.

Cosatu provincial secretary Malvern de Bruyn, who is part of the PTT as a Cosatu-affiliated member, said they are willing to work with any structure that can take the ANC forward.

“At this stage, we didn't receive any funny remarks or negative sentiments from the structure."

De Bruyn said that he did not see any issue with the large number of people on the PTT, as there are six regions in the province.

The PTT's spokesperson, Sifiso Mtsweni, said the team met recently with Mbalula, who has given them their marching orders.

Mtsweni said that a working committee, as well as sub-committee chairpersons have been appointed.

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