Meetings to nominate ANC ward and proportional representatives (PR) councillors in the Frances Baard region this weekend, had to be cancelled due to poor attendance.
MEETINGS to nominate ANC ward and proportional representatives (PR) councillors in the Frances Baard region this weekend, had to be cancelled due to poor attendance.
ANC members in the John Taolo Gaetsewe district indicated that they did not attend meetings in line with an advisory issued by the deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte on June 19, calling for all biennial branch general meetings (BBGMs) and conference branch general meetings (BGMs) to be postponed over the weekend.
According to the letter, the national call centre was temporarily closed after staff tested positive for Covid-19 and had to be hospitalised.
“As per the safety protocols, all staff in the call centre that had contact with the affected staff are in self-isolation and will have to be tested. We therefore had no choice but to close the call centre immediately.”
Duarte said that as a result, verification codes could not be issued from June 16-23.
She stated that an exception was made in KwaZulu Natal and the Eastern Cape as capacity had been established.
“BBGMS and conference BGMS scheduled must be postponed for this weekend, because they require QR codes for scanning and verification. Since this will impact on the deadline for regional conferences, we will consult regarding an extension for these. Provinces and regions can start re-submitting their schedules for BBGMS and conference BGMS from next week.
“This means that for this weekend, we should concentrate on completing candidate branch general meetings (BGMs) based on attendance registers, community meetings and community votes. We remind comrades again that these activities must strictly observe the Covid-19 safety regulations, using different venues to remain below 50, wearing of masks, social distancing and so forth.”
ANC provincial secretary Deshi Ngxanga on Monday said low attendance was reported in the John Taolo Gaetsewe, ZF Mgcawu and Namakwa regions.
“A decision was taken to begin the nomination process this weekend to identify councillors. Provincial executive committee officials are currently meeting to discuss new dates to nominate councillors throughout the province. Nominations got off to a slow start where only one meeting took place in the John Taolo Gaetsewe district, two in the ZF Mgcawu district while no meetings took place in Namakwa. Meetings could not proceed as the quorum would not be met.”
He indicated that all names of councillors had to be submitted to the ANC national executive committee for discussion by July 11 while the candidate’s list had to be finalised and registered with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) by August.
ANC regional spokesperson Sedukanelo Tshepo Louw said nominations for PR and ward councillors took place in Phokwane, Dikgatlong and Magareng over the weekend.
“Sol Plaatje will commence on Tuesday. Voting is taking place by way of a ballot where between four to six candidates are presented for nomination. The candidates must appear before a panel including the ANC regional chairperson who will question them on what they will do to serve the community. We have no place for rotten potatoes.”
He added that community members could reject candidates and propose the names of their own preferred nominee, provided there was a majority vote.
“There will be a minimum of two female candidate nominees in each ward while the chosen candidates will be a mixture of categories including women, youth, retention and new councillors. No candidate must have a criminal history, they must have integrity and should not be attending court appearances when they are supposed to respond to the needs of the community on the ground.”
