Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has accused ANC national leaders of causing divisions in the province.

Briefing media at the East London ICC on Friday, Mabuyane said the province had long been used as a pawn by leaders who wanted to lead the party nationally.

“The Eastern Cape has been treated like this for a long time. We’ve been taken for a ride [and] we’ve been taken for granted that if people are interested in leading national they must come here in the Eastern Cape and find whatever little piece they can have,” he said.

Asked if he was referring to ANC treasurer-general (TG) Paul Mashatile’s deputy president ambitions, Mabuyane said he would not like to be drawn into conclusions, adding it was tantamount to bringing the national executive committee (NEC) into disrepute.

“I’m not sure about the ambitions of the TG and we work with him. Surely at work there will be challenges getting this done with speed the way we’d like. What we appreciate is every time there’s a misunderstanding a platform is created [to talk about it].

“Our frustration is we’ve met a lot without getting things processed properly as per the decision we’ve arrived at. I won’t be drawn into that conversation,” Mabuyane said.

The provincial conference is taking place this weekend and will see Mabuyane go head-to-head with his former ally Babalo Madikizela.

Top of the agenda has been the disputes with branches in the Dr BW Rubusana and Chris Hani regions and their eligibility to participate in the conference.

Frustrated by the bottleneck at the national dispute resolution committee level, Mabuyane said the matter raised by branches had been taken to national late 2021.

He said branches in the two regions discovered discrepancies in their members and the matter was raised to national due to the new centralised membership system.

“The issue of credentials will be attended to at an appropriate time. Of course credentials emanate from the verification report because it tells us who’s meant to attend conference.

“We’re waiting for that report from the SGO [secretary-general’s office]. We had a meeting last night [Thursday] with national officials and organising just to tie up some loose ends and clear a couple of issues that probably might have found a way of mudding this."

On the conference itself, Mabuyane said it was likely to have about 1,500 voting delegates. ANC NEC members Aaron Motsoaledi, Thabang Makwetla and Zizi Kodwa were present at the briefing.

On Friday, provincial leaders met with their regional counterparts to discuss the issue of credentials. It’s understood that the meeting resolved that branches with outstanding disputes reconvene and had a deadline of midnight.

An ANC insider said this was a last ditch attempt for Mabuyane to get numbers on his side.

Both regions are on his side.

Mabuyane is a staunch supporter of President Cyril Ramaphosa and was one of the architects of his victory at the party’s national conference in Nasrec in 2017.

Therefore, the outcome of the provincial conference may have major consequences for Ramaphosa’s bid for a second term as party leader.

Madikizela has refused to reveal whether he'll support Ramaphosa or not.

Commenting on his opponent’s claim about pending bribery during the conference, Mabuyane cautioned leaders from making “reckless” statements.

“Leadership must be responsible and not reckless. Whether there’s a conference or not, there’ll be this conference and whether you win or lose, this organisation will be there. We can’t behave like its do or die.

“Contest is causing chest pains,” he said.