The Umkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) members’ strategy of holding both ANC and party membership has disrupted the ANC’s preparations for regional conferences in KwaZulu-Natal.

The MKP’s dual membership plan, which is now seemingly being applied by general party membership, was popularised by the party founder former president Jacob Zuma in 2023 when he announced that he would remain an ANC member but vote for the MKP. This resulted in a protracted legal battle between Zuma and the ANC – the latter terminated him his membership.

With only two weeks for regions to complete the branch audit process, the key party regions which include eThekwini and Moses Mabhida (Pietermaritzburg) have cast doubt that their branches will meet the deadline for the verification process and to hold their elective conferences.

Moses Mabhida regional convener Nathi Mdlalda said it would be a miracle if his branches meet the deadline which was set by the national leadership on a road map that was given to the regions. Mdladla said that the biggest problem was that many ANC branch members, including branch leaders, left the party to join the MKP; however, most of them kept their ANC membership.

He said that this put the party in a difficult position because branch meetings were attended mostly by MKP members.

Mdladla said even if the party can start cleaning itself of the MKP members, it is most likely that the members will resist and fight to remain ANC party members.

“I think the problem was created by our party’s inaction to fire all the members who openly associated and campaigned for the MKP. Now this is proving to be a problem.

“Here in my region there are branch secretaries who are active MKP members who also hold ANC membership, in good standing. The dilemma is how do you prevent such people from participating in a branch meeting,” said Mdladla.

He suggested that the solution would be to disband the branches and replace them with a branch task team and then start cleaning up the membership.

Speaking during a visit to the ward 64 by-election last week, eThekwini regional task team member Nkosenhle Madlala concurred with Mdladla, saying his region was facing a similar situation.

He said that many ‘comrades in eThekwini are not only holding dual membership, but also hold crucial membership recruitment equipment such as login details of the recruitment portal’.

“You see these comrades over there (pointing to the MKP marquee outside the voting station) are our members in good standing, so if we call a branch meeting you will see all of them in a hall. The party needs to clean the membership first before we call a branch meeting, so it will be practically impossible to hold a successful conference under these circumstances,” said Madlala.

ANC provincial spokesperson Fanle Sibisi said the regions will have to present those difficulties to the provincial structure, which can then propose a postponement to the national leadership.

MKP provincial convener Willies Mchunu on Sunday said the party has nothing to say on the matter, if people are exercising their rights.

Last month, the party’s provincial leadership directed all 11 regions to hold an elective conference by the end of the year. The roadmap stipulated that by the end of this month, all branches must have completed the membership audit so that they can start branch elective conferences in October.

Regions are expected to hold their conferences by the end of November to prepare for the Provincial General Council and the National General Council.

willem.phungula@inl.co.za

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