The ANC provincial executive committee (PEC) of Mpumalanga has again failed to disband its Bohlabelo and Ehlanzeni regions following disagreements on who to lead the regional task team (RTT). 

Since Monday, meetings have collapsed where the PEC was meant to reconfigure the regions to form one as per the party’s 2012 policy to align the party’s structures with government demarcation. 

Both Ehlanzeni and Bohlabelo regions fall under Ehlanzeni district municipality which demands for them to be one region. 

On Monday, members of the MK council stormed into the ANC provincial offices in Mbombela, demanded keys and locked the offices saying that the PEC was illegitimate and hence it cannot disband the two regional executives (REC). 

The PEC in a letter, which Sowetan has a copy of, invited chairpersons and secretaries of branches from both regions to announce the decision to disband their regions. However, a meeting that comprised both regional representatives resulted in chaos and an exchange of words which led to it collapsing. 

Secretaries and chairpersons of all the branches had to wait outside Nutting House while the provincial working committee argued with the regional chairpersons and secretaries who had to be disbanded. 

Sources within the meeting told Sowetan that the PEC had excluded the current chairpersons of Bohlabelo and Ehlanzeni from the RTT which led the meeting to collapse.

“You know, the PEC is joking, how can you disband a region and not include its current leadership in the RTT. Actually they [the PEC] are illegitimate themselves,  they fear that the NEC is coming to disband them soon, so they want their friends to be in the RTT so that they can support them to remain during the provincial elective conference in December,” said one member of the two regions. 

Though physical altercation did not happen, both Bohlabelo and Ehlanzeni branches were arguing over the PEC's action until their leaders who were inside told them to meet at different venues for debriefing. 

Spokesperson of the ANC in Mpumalanga, Sasekani Manzini, could not be drawn to speak about the disbandment except to send three lines of responses saying: “If there  is anything to communicate about the two regions we will do so.

"The  PEC is functioning very well as per the constitution, the PEC is still intact as per the constitution. 

“There is a PEC in Mpumalanga that takes decisions as elected by branches.” 

Spokesperson of the Mpumalanga MK council Jacks Modipane said the PEC has failed to convene a provincial general council to replace deputy president David Mabuza and his then deputy as former leaders. 

“Remember when the president left with his then deputy to the national executive committee, the province was supposed to hold a PGC but this structure failed. We don’t see this is a good thing to renew the ANC but they are killing the ANC hence we have decided to lock the offices. Again we can’t allow a structure that we don’t recognise to disband lower structures themselves,” said Modipane. 

ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe could not be reached for comment and did not answer text messages sent to him.