'Second termers' dance on tables and chairs at ANC conference

Dozens of Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga delegates began trickling into the plenary hall ahead of the start of the party’s 55th national elective conference on Friday in Nasrec, Johannesburg.

While there were a lot of empty chairs in the hall where the conference is set to take place, this did not dampen the mood of the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga delegates who were clad in colourful regalia, blowing whistles, and singing and dancing on top of chairs and tables.

The two provinces are known as ''second termers’’ as both provincial executive committees have declared support for President Cyril Ramaphosa to serve a second term.

Inside plenary, delegates from the two provinces chanted ''uyabuya’’, making reference to Ramaphosa’s second term.

ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe briefly took to the stage to announce that the conference would officially start at 2pm, citing delays with registration.

During a media briefing earlier, ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe touched on the leaked national disciplinary committee decision to institute action against cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Mabe said during a special national executive committee meeting held on Thursday, it concluded to defer investigating and disciplining the rebels to the new NEC to be elected.

''These matters will be processed by the incoming NEC and it will determine the course of action, having looked at all of the cases of a similar nature that would have occurred in the past.

''You should allow the incoming national executive committee, out of its own collective wisdom, to decide on its authority. You can’t take a report to comrades with recommendations. You are stifling them. We will not have the time to do the investigation,’’ said Mabe.