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The Citizen
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Limpopo ANC conference rocked by membership manipulation claims
Claims of manipulated membership packages and political patronage threaten to derail the ANC Limpopo elective conference this weekend. Trouble is brewing in Limpopo ahead of this weekend's crucial elective conference in the Peter Mokaba region of the ANC. This involves claims of political patronage, intolerance and attempts to manipulate the party's membership system. The conference begins today and runs until Sunday. Controversy clouds ANC Limpopo elective conference Delegates will elect top five officials and additional members to run the region for the next three years. The biggest contest will be between Polokwane municipality's mayor John Mpe and Capricorn district municipality mayor Mamedupi Teffo. Hundreds of people claiming to be ANC branch members marched to the party's offices at Frans Mohlala and Polokwane municipality council chamber to express their anger about the alleged bad conduct of some members during branch general meetings (BGMs). ALSO READ: Rigging claims stall ANC Youth League provincial elections Branch member Fistos Mothudi said the marchers came from all branches that had parallel BGMs and those who registered disputes with the Limpopo provincial dispute resolution committee and the national dispute resolution committee. 'We believe that our BGM packages were tampered with. This is so because we had our BGM on 1 April. We passed the audit and reached the 70% threshold,' he said. 'But when we went for preregistrstion this week, we found that our package had been tampered with and even the signature of the deployee on the package was forged.' 'Rented drunkards' Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, a senior politician at the Polokwane subregion alleged those who took part in the march were 'rented drunkards collected from shebeen and taxi ranks'. Spokesperson for the ANC regional task (RTT) team in the Peter Mokaba region, Adolf Rapetsoa, also slammed the marchers. 'The march to the ANC provincial office [Frans Mohlala House] and Polokwane council chamber was nothing but a cheap and desperate attempt to cause trouble for the region ahead of the elective conference,' said Rapetsoa. ALSO READ: Malema slams politicians exploiting 'blackness' to mask corruption and escape justice He said the mobilisation of non-ANC members for frivolous political aims was frowned upon by the RTT. 'The ANC will investigate this and those behind the march will face the full might of the organisation,' he said. Earlier this week, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula was accused of having a hidden hand in manipulating the party's membership system to cook the regional and provincial outcomes to favour him or his faction. Mbalula accused of manipulating party's membership system This is contained in an anonymous document circulating on social media and WhatsApp groups, apparently penned by a disgruntled ANC staff member. But party headquarters Luthuli House said it had no knowledge of the document and declined to respond to it. According to the anonymous document, Mbalula's office allegedly manipulated the membership portal system in provinces with political divisions. NOW READ: 'ANC conference whispers will be suppressed to the moon and back' – Mbalula [Video]
The Citizen
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Branch disputes cast doubt on ANC Peter Mokaba conference
POLOKWANE – Tensions continue to mount ahead of the ANC's Peter Mokaba Region conference, with unresolved branch-level disputes casting doubt on whether the event will go ahead as planned this weekend. Despite protests by aggrieved members on Wednesday, Regional Task Team spokesperson Adolph Rapetswa insists the conference will proceed. He reaffirmed the team's position in a statement to Polokwane Observer on Thursday, saying the event is still scheduled as per the recently confirmed dates. On Wednesday, frustrated members from various regional branches demonstrated outside the ANC's Limpopo headquarters, Frans Mohlala House in Biccard Street eventually leading to the Polokwane Council Chambers. #Limpopo #Polokwane #FYP #ANC #PeterMokaba ♬ original sound – plkreview @polokwanereview Tensions continue to mount ahead of the ANC's Peter Mokaba Region conference, with unresolved branch-level disputes casting doubt on whether the event will go ahead as planned this weekend. Despite protests by aggrieved members on Wednesday, Regional Task Team spokesperson Adolph Rapetswa insists the conference will proceed. He reaffirmed the team's position in a statement to Polokwane Observer on Thursday, saying the event is still scheduled as per the recently confirmed dates. #ReviewOnline The protesters, who claim to be part of Mamedupi Teffo's slate, accused the Provincial Dispute Resolutions Committee (PDRC) of approving the conference date despite several disputes lodged regarding alleged undemocratic processes during recent branch general meetings. The group alleges that in certain branches, meetings were intentionally collapsed and branch executives were handpicked instead of being democratically elected—effectively allowing delegates aligned to John Mpe to dominate the upcoming conference vote. Mpe, the sitting convener and former chairperson, is seeking a third term and faces opposition from Teffo. Protesters claim 49 out of 103 branches have filed disputes, citing issues such as parallel meeting packages and scheduling irregularities. If these are not resolved, the region may not meet the required 70% threshold to hold the conference. Calls for the disbandment of the regional team and provincial intervention have intensified. ANC Limpopo spokesperson Jimmy Machaka confirmed that grievances have been received and are under review, however, he could not say whether the national and provincial dispute resolution committees would finalise their assessments in time. 'We remain hopeful that by the time the conference sits, all matters will be resolved,' Machaka said, adding that the process should not hinder the event if the disputes are addressed appropriately. Rapetswa said the team had received 39 formal disputes from the PDRC, five of which had been resolved by Tuesday. He suggested the protesters were acting outside internal party processes and called into question the legitimacy of their concerns. 'These are not genuine grievances. Some members appear to be rented and the coordinator of the protest remains unknown,' he said. 'We are working within a strict six-month mandate which began in December when the previous executive's term ended.' At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
