The Reverend Frank Chikane says he is not prepared to discuss the contents nor release a copy of a document he has submitted to the national leadership of the ANC until he has met with the party’s leaders.

He also declined to confirm reports that the letter contained proposals calling for the renewal of the ANC and urging the ruling party to own up to its own problems.

“In this regard‚ while I confirm that I have indeed written and sent a document to the national leadership of the ANC on the 21st September 2015‚ I am at this stage unable to release the document to media or to discuss its contents publicly as I am still awaiting an opportunity to meet with the leadership of the ANC as I requested in my letter of the 1st July 2015.

“I will therefore continue to decline media interviews whose object is to discuss the contents of the document as it would be both inappropriate and immature‚” Chikane said in a statement on Thursday.

However‚ he added: “For now I can confirm that I have been on a ‘Journey to Luthuli House’ for nine months to express my concerns about matters which affect my organisation of more than forty years.”

The statement continued: “As a disciplined member of the organisation‚ and in terms of Rule 5.1.3 of the Constitution

of the ANC‚ I started with the leadership of my Branch — the Sol Plaatjie Award Winner‚ Liliesleaf Farm Branch – and then met the leadership of the Johannesburg Region and Gauteng Province. They all received me well‚ gave me a hearing‚ and committed themselves to do whatever they could – at their level — to address the issues I raised in the interest of the organisation.

“Besides consulting with as many veterans of the Movement as possible (those I could reach within Gauteng) I also had an opportunity to address the Johannesburg Region of the Veterans League of the ANC on the 4th July 2015 which in general agreed with me and asked for a copy of the PowerPoint Presentation to discuss it within their Branches.

“The Liliesleaf Farm Branch arranged a Workshop on the 15th August 2015 on the theme ‘Self-Criticism and a Winning ANC’ which I addressed and was asked to facilitate. The PowerPoint Presentation for this Workshop was also made available to the Branch.

“Given the delays in setting a meeting with the national leadership (because of their difficult schedules) I decided to put my concerns in a form of a document entitled ‘Saving the Soul of the ANC’ and sent it (together with the PowerPoint Presentations) to them on September 21‚ 2015 with the hope that a meeting would still be possible before the NGC meeting.

“Unfortunately‚ as a disciplined member of the organisation I am not able‚ for now‚ to share or discuss the contents of the document until I have had an opportunity to meet with the leadership.”