disenfranchised members of a branch in good standing’, an action that
was also ‘inconsistent’ with South Africa’s Constitution.^29
Members of at least four branches in the Thabo Mofutsanyana region
were also found to have been ‘disenfranchised’ by being denied
‘representation at the provincial conference’, this time due to a
disconcerting dereliction of duty by certain members of the ANC NEC.
In the months before the provincial conference, the National Audit
Team determined that several branches in this region had to rerun their
elective processes because of alleged irregularities. NEC members who
formed part of the National Audit Team were supposed to oversee fresh
elections at the affected branches; however, they failed to pitch up at
the branch meetings, which meant the elections could not take place.
As a result, several branch members in this region could not attend the
provincial conference. Bizarrely, despite the fact that there were no
fresh elections, the affected branches were somehow still represented in
Parys by mystery ‘delegates’.^30
The court papers revealed that the provincial conference was attended
by many more of these supposed ‘delegates’ who had no business
being there. Members of the Lovemore Koto branch in the town of
Petrusburg, which forms part of the Xhariep region, were denied an
opportunity to view the preliminary and final audit reports on the
delegates to be sent to the conference. Lovemore Koto and two other
branches in this region were also eventually represented by mystery
delegates. ‘There is no denial that no preliminary audit report was
presented to these branches. Nor do the respondents deal with the
serious allegation that the provincial conference was attended by
delegates who were not duly elected by the branches concerned,’ the
court found.^31
nora
(Nora)
#1