Former Nelson Mandela Bay regional chairman and Robben Island prisoner Mike Xego will be among those resigning from the ANC tomorrow when several members quit at a press conference at 5pm. He will be joined by former regional secretary Mtiwabo Ndube.
However, it is not those quitting that present the problem but those who are remaining until it is strategically the right moment to leave.
While he has denied that he is planning to defect to the new party Social Development MEC in the Eastern Cape Sam Kwelita will leave at some stage, while there is a question mark over the head of Housing and Safety and Liaison MEC Thobile Mhlahlo who has also denied any intention of quitting.
The provincial launch of the planned national convention will take place in Port Elizabeth this weekend and the organisers are hoping that in addition to former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa that Western Cape firebrand cleric Alan Boesak will also speak.
Boesak has stated that he does not want a return to politics but may be persuaded to do so and could be a powerful force for the new party in the Western Cape.
With the name of the new party scheduled to be announced at the national convention on November 2 in Bloemfontein, one month after it has been registered resignations from the Nelson Mandela Bay council are likely to force by-elections in what will be a test of electoral strength in the metro, ahead of next year’s national election.
Showing posts with label ANC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ANC. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Legislators meet to consider Pillay Commission report
The ad hoc committee on the Pillay Commission report that has been moribund for some two months will meet in the Bhisho Legislature.
The DA in the Legislature introduced a motion in the Legislature in Graaff Reinet earlier this month that was supported by all parties calling for the committee to meet and finish its work and that process will now start on Friday.
The task of the committee is to:
The DA in the Legislature introduced a motion in the Legislature in Graaff Reinet earlier this month that was supported by all parties calling for the committee to meet and finish its work and that process will now start on Friday.
The task of the committee is to:
- Consider the process of receiving the report by the Legislature – it was only submitted to the Speaker after a motion demanding this had been passed
- Consider the report against the background that the Premier and Executive must be accountable to the Legislature and must therefore consider the report with due regard to the funds that the Legislature has voted to fund the commission
- Consider the report, the findings and the recommendations thereof, the appropriateness thereof for implementation by the Executive and investigate the steps taken by the Executive to implement the recommendations of the commission and
- Consider the terms of reference of the commission and to what extent they have been complied with.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Blobby Stevenson: Forever a lunch party supporter
At the lunchtime meeting called earlier this week by the ANC breakaway group it was possible to spot one or two “strangers” – members of the party who are strong backers of Jacob Zuma.
Strangest presence of the lot, however, was DA Bhisho MPL Bobby Stevenson.
Now any mention of a national convention or splits in the ANC excites the DA in a way that is akin to an invitation to dinner with Madiba. And the current official opposition – a position it might well lose if the “Terror” and his team perform as well at the polls as some are suggesting – are obviously eyeing the showdown between the ANC and those bent on forming a new party with relish.
(There could be some perks going out the window if that happens and a reduction in the speaking time allocated to the party!)
Any bets on how many DA supporters will join the new party that will be staunchly anti-communists? The phrase “rooi gevaar” has a particular effect on white voters. ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe thinks the DA will be a major loser.
Luke says:
Good for you Bobby – the new party needs some heavyweights!
Strangest presence of the lot, however, was DA Bhisho MPL Bobby Stevenson.
Now any mention of a national convention or splits in the ANC excites the DA in a way that is akin to an invitation to dinner with Madiba. And the current official opposition – a position it might well lose if the “Terror” and his team perform as well at the polls as some are suggesting – are obviously eyeing the showdown between the ANC and those bent on forming a new party with relish.
(There could be some perks going out the window if that happens and a reduction in the speaking time allocated to the party!)
Any bets on how many DA supporters will join the new party that will be staunchly anti-communists? The phrase “rooi gevaar” has a particular effect on white voters. ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe thinks the DA will be a major loser.
Luke says:
Good for you Bobby – the new party needs some heavyweights!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
ANC split: No laughing matter according to Nkwinti
Eastern Cape Agriculture MEC Gugile Nkwinti responded to the barrage of jokes about the pending “divorce” in the ANC after former national chairman Mosiuoa Lekota stated this morning that it appeared there would be a “parting of the ways”.
The United Democratic Movement invited any ANC members who wished to do so to join them while the DA suggested that the real reason for problems at an old age home in Port Elizabeth’s Northern Areas lay in divisions within the ANC.
Replying to a debate in the Legislature later, Nkwinti said: “Those who have read the Sunday Times will have read what the President of the Republic Kgalema Motlanthe had to say ... in the ANC there is always a tomorrow”. (Although subsequent research suggests this quote appears in a story in the Mail & Guardian rather than the Sunday Times)
To which Nkwinti added somewhat pointedly: “There are not many political organisations in the country that can say that of themselves."
The United Democratic Movement invited any ANC members who wished to do so to join them while the DA suggested that the real reason for problems at an old age home in Port Elizabeth’s Northern Areas lay in divisions within the ANC.
Replying to a debate in the Legislature later, Nkwinti said: “Those who have read the Sunday Times will have read what the President of the Republic Kgalema Motlanthe had to say ... in the ANC there is always a tomorrow”. (Although subsequent research suggests this quote appears in a story in the Mail & Guardian rather than the Sunday Times)
To which Nkwinti added somewhat pointedly: “There are not many political organisations in the country that can say that of themselves."
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
ANC split: Eastern Cape Premier keeps his sense of humour
While the Legislature is abuzz with a possible split in the ANC, Premier Mbulelo Sogoni is clearly one of those who still finds some humour in the situation.
Introducing the tabling of his annual report, Sogoni commented on the earlier election of a new deputy-speaker and chairman of committees telling DA leader Athol Trollip that there was only one nomination for each position “and that demonstrates how united the ANC is”.
Chairman of Committees Sam Masoziwe was elevated to the position of deputy-speaker and Neo Moerane-Mamase takes over his position.
There seems to be general acceptance now that there will be some kind of split, senior members of the Legislature indicating yesterday that they expected the former deputy-minister of Defence Mluleki George to drive the new entity in the Amathole region while there was also a suggestion that former presidential spokesman Smuts Ngonyama might emerge as its candidate for the premiership of the Eastern Cape in the next election.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Is the Pillay Commission probe a dead duck?
After the initial fervour to address the findings of the Pillay Commission report it appears that ANC in the Bhisho Legislature is bent on quietly allowing the matter to die.
The ad hoc commission was appointed in early August to:
Consider the process of receiving the report by the Legislature – it was only submitted to the Speaker after a motion demanding this had been passed
- Consider the report against the background that the Premier and Executive must be accountable to the Legislature and must therefore consider the report with due regard to the funds that the Legislature has voted to fund the commission
- Consider the report, the findings and the recommendations thereof, the appropriateness thereof for implementation by the Executive and investigate the steps taken by the Executive to implement the recommendations of the commission and
- Consider the terms of reference of the commission and to what extent they have been complied with.
The first delay resulted from the tardiness with which some departments provided the information required and then work ground to a halt when the committee’s chairman Phumulo Masualle was appointed to the provincial cabinet.
Since then, although it has a new chairman, the committee has not met and some kind of explanation is going to be demanded by the opposition when the Legislature gathers in Graaff-Reinet this week for its annual “taking the Legislature to the people”.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Do unto others ...
Got to thinking around Nosimo Balindlela’s unhappiness about the way that her “forced removal” was handled and particularly the fact that the news was in the media before Luthuli House informed her she could return to her farm in Stutterheim.
That would have brought some wry chuckles from some of the people she fired during the four years she was Premier.
Take Johnny Makgato, for example, who was initially appointed Finance MEC in 2004 in Balindlela’s first cabinet but before he was even sworn in received a note stating that his services were not required when Balindlela was forced to retain Enoch Godongwana.
And then Godongwana who was at a meeting when a “flunkey” arrived with a terse note telling him that he had been fired. And in a foretaste of what was to eventually come in the Pillay Commission, the statement issued at the time said:
“The Honourable Premier, Mrs Nosimo Balindlela, wishes to announce the removal of Mr Enoch Godongwana as the MEC for Finance with immediate effect.
“This action is taken in the light of the Executive Council decision last week that an investigation into the provincial finances be instituted.”
Take that Enoch!
Not to mention big Andre de Wet who served in the provincial cabinet with Billy Nel who had defeated him in the 1989 election in East London for the House of Assembly and who was, depending on how charitable one is feeling, either the hatchet man of the Balindlela administration or its “useful idiot”.
Having created general havoc in the provincial parastatals from which some have still to recover, but removed as many perceived enemies of the administration as possible De Wet found himself out in the cold. The telltale signs were there when Balindlela refused all his requests for meetings and in due course the axe fell.
Put in that perspective does Balindlela really have any reason to gripe?
That would have brought some wry chuckles from some of the people she fired during the four years she was Premier.
Take Johnny Makgato, for example, who was initially appointed Finance MEC in 2004 in Balindlela’s first cabinet but before he was even sworn in received a note stating that his services were not required when Balindlela was forced to retain Enoch Godongwana.
And then Godongwana who was at a meeting when a “flunkey” arrived with a terse note telling him that he had been fired. And in a foretaste of what was to eventually come in the Pillay Commission, the statement issued at the time said:
“The Honourable Premier, Mrs Nosimo Balindlela, wishes to announce the removal of Mr Enoch Godongwana as the MEC for Finance with immediate effect.
“This action is taken in the light of the Executive Council decision last week that an investigation into the provincial finances be instituted.”
Take that Enoch!
Not to mention big Andre de Wet who served in the provincial cabinet with Billy Nel who had defeated him in the 1989 election in East London for the House of Assembly and who was, depending on how charitable one is feeling, either the hatchet man of the Balindlela administration or its “useful idiot”.
Having created general havoc in the provincial parastatals from which some have still to recover, but removed as many perceived enemies of the administration as possible De Wet found himself out in the cold. The telltale signs were there when Balindlela refused all his requests for meetings and in due course the axe fell.
Put in that perspective does Balindlela really have any reason to gripe?
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Politicians cut back ... their lunchbreak
LUNCHTIME – we have saved 43 minutes on the day so far and with deputy-speaker Gloria Barry cutting the lunch break to 40 minutes the long weekend is looming. Some of the MPLs have their cars packed, petrol tanks full and attendance on the last afternoon is likely to drop off.
It’s all a bit reminiscent of the old pre-1994 House of Assembly, when MPs left their briefcases in the lobby outside the Chamber ready for a quick spring for the exit and the bus back to the parliamentary compound.
No joy for the DA’s Bobby Stevenson in the Safety and Liaison debate. The Blobster, as Tony Leon used to call him, was hoping to prise some information out of MEC Thobile Mhlahlo on the Standard House stand-off on Monday night (when police arrested a number of ANC members holding a sit-in protest at the party's regional headquarters).
Mhlahlo, however, told “the Honourable Bobby” that this was not a government matter but an ANC matter and the “ANC will deal with it”.
It’s all a bit reminiscent of the old pre-1994 House of Assembly, when MPs left their briefcases in the lobby outside the Chamber ready for a quick spring for the exit and the bus back to the parliamentary compound.
No joy for the DA’s Bobby Stevenson in the Safety and Liaison debate. The Blobster, as Tony Leon used to call him, was hoping to prise some information out of MEC Thobile Mhlahlo on the Standard House stand-off on Monday night (when police arrested a number of ANC members holding a sit-in protest at the party's regional headquarters).
Mhlahlo, however, told “the Honourable Bobby” that this was not a government matter but an ANC matter and the “ANC will deal with it”.
Eastern Cape all at sea
THE United Democratic Movement’s Max Mhlati wanted to know whether Roads and Transport MEC Thobile Mhlahlo was planning to buy as boat this morning and if not why was the department advertising for consultants to draw up a maritime policy.
Mhlati got a laugh, although not from Mhlahlo who solemnly explained that he was not intending to buy a boat but the national minister believes that some of the functions of the national department should be delegated to the provinces.
“We have Port Elizabeth, East London, Ngqura and Port St Johns – we cannot ignore the fact that there is an ocean around us.”.
For those wanting to know if and when the R72 between Port Elizabeth and East London will become a toll road, there’s no news, Mhlahlo saying only that a study had been completed and was being discussed. “We would as a matter of policy want to toll the road because it makes business sense because then our spending on road infrastructure can be focused on different areas”.
Mhlati got a laugh, although not from Mhlahlo who solemnly explained that he was not intending to buy a boat but the national minister believes that some of the functions of the national department should be delegated to the provinces.
“We have Port Elizabeth, East London, Ngqura and Port St Johns – we cannot ignore the fact that there is an ocean around us.”.
For those wanting to know if and when the R72 between Port Elizabeth and East London will become a toll road, there’s no news, Mhlahlo saying only that a study had been completed and was being discussed. “We would as a matter of policy want to toll the road because it makes business sense because then our spending on road infrastructure can be focused on different areas”.
MECs living in the past?
ANC MPL Max Mamase was this morning reminded of the days when he was a member if the provincial cabinet. Waxing eloquent during the debate on Public Works, Mamase was told he only had one minute left.
“Are you missing the time when you were an MEC and you had unlimited time?” DA leader Athol Trollip asked. After a long pause and in response to calls of “answer” he said “yes” – whether it was the time or the other goodies that go with being an MEC he didn’t say.
Public Works MEC Christian Martin was also waxing eloquent this morning talking about innovation, although why that should be necessary in order to rid the province of the 869 mud schools he didn’t say.
Public Works is responsible for replacing 208 of them and this will form part of an incubator launched by the department, he said.
Martin also quoted Barack Obama as saying; “This is our time. Our time to turn the pages on the policies of the past”.
Didn’t know we had had a change of government.
“Are you missing the time when you were an MEC and you had unlimited time?” DA leader Athol Trollip asked. After a long pause and in response to calls of “answer” he said “yes” – whether it was the time or the other goodies that go with being an MEC he didn’t say.
Public Works MEC Christian Martin was also waxing eloquent this morning talking about innovation, although why that should be necessary in order to rid the province of the 869 mud schools he didn’t say.
Public Works is responsible for replacing 208 of them and this will form part of an incubator launched by the department, he said.
Martin also quoted Barack Obama as saying; “This is our time. Our time to turn the pages on the policies of the past”.
Didn’t know we had had a change of government.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Eastern Cape backs floor-crossing law repeal
All parties in the Bhisho Legislature this morning supported repeal of crossing-the floor legislation.
All the nine provincial legislatures must express their view on the matter ahead of the tabling of the Constitutional Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendment bills that scrap the legislation at national and provincial and municipal level respectively.
Deputy-Speaker Gloria Barry told the Legislature that the Rules Committee had met and discussed the proposed measures and supported them.
DA leader Athol Trollip said the crossing-the floor legislation had been “bad” especially as the electoral system in South Africa was that of proportional representation (PR) at national and provincial level, although he acknowledged that the DA had supported it at the time.
In doing so, he said, “we undermined the democratic wishes of the people of South Africa” and had led to greed and “massive opportunism” with people being offered financial inducements.
“Cheque book politics became the hallmark in South Africa”.
The United Democratic Movement’s Masiza Mhlati said that “at last” his party’s view had been respected saying the legislation had favoured those who “wanted to fill their stomachs at the benefit of the people”.
He said the ANC had been the main beneficiary.
He pointed out that the legislation had led to the creation of single-person parties that had disappeared at the next election.
The ANC’s Neela Hoosain noted that it was the then Democratic Party that had initiated the floor crossing legislation, adding that the ANC had wanted the provision that 10% of a party was required to support any crossing the floor in order to prevent the creation of a “plethora of small parties”.
What had actually happened, she said, was that “the identity of parties had been diluted”.
She said people should be encouraged to identify with the party of their choice but that this should be based on “ethics”.
All the nine provincial legislatures must express their view on the matter ahead of the tabling of the Constitutional Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendment bills that scrap the legislation at national and provincial and municipal level respectively.
Deputy-Speaker Gloria Barry told the Legislature that the Rules Committee had met and discussed the proposed measures and supported them.
DA leader Athol Trollip said the crossing-the floor legislation had been “bad” especially as the electoral system in South Africa was that of proportional representation (PR) at national and provincial level, although he acknowledged that the DA had supported it at the time.
In doing so, he said, “we undermined the democratic wishes of the people of South Africa” and had led to greed and “massive opportunism” with people being offered financial inducements.
“Cheque book politics became the hallmark in South Africa”.
The United Democratic Movement’s Masiza Mhlati said that “at last” his party’s view had been respected saying the legislation had favoured those who “wanted to fill their stomachs at the benefit of the people”.
He said the ANC had been the main beneficiary.
He pointed out that the legislation had led to the creation of single-person parties that had disappeared at the next election.
The ANC’s Neela Hoosain noted that it was the then Democratic Party that had initiated the floor crossing legislation, adding that the ANC had wanted the provision that 10% of a party was required to support any crossing the floor in order to prevent the creation of a “plethora of small parties”.
What had actually happened, she said, was that “the identity of parties had been diluted”.
She said people should be encouraged to identify with the party of their choice but that this should be based on “ethics”.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Policy speeches: A weird and wonderful process
The main business of the Bhisho Legislature this week will be the debates on the policy speeches presented by the members of the provincial executive committee last month.
It’s a weird and wonderful process.
The Legislature is meeting in the “Good News Centre” – quite inappropriate some would say – because the Chamber of the Legislature is being refurbished. The bill for this financial year is R10 million.
It’s a weird and wonderful process.
- The portfolio committee chairman presents the report – he reads it. At the start of the week this takes 20 minutes but as Friday approaches it is generally reduced with only the findings and recommendations read.
- Questions are then put on the report to members of the committee by other members of the Legislature
- Questions on the report are then put to the MEC
- All the parties contribute their pennyworth
- The MEC replies.
- Each report should, according to the speaker’s list, take some two hours and 20 minutes.
The Legislature is meeting in the “Good News Centre” – quite inappropriate some would say – because the Chamber of the Legislature is being refurbished. The bill for this financial year is R10 million.
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