Who will emerge as leader of the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay?
The battle for control of Florence Matomela House kicked off on Thursday, but the real contest is between former ANC councillor Andile Lungisa and Bhisho MPL Babalwa Lobishe.
They are both running for the position of chair, a powerful position because the victor will have considerable influence over the running of City Hall.
The ANC holds three of the four most powerful seats in the council — mayor, deputy mayor and chief whip — and is the majority party in the coalition in charge of the city.
Both Lungisa and Lobishe were confident of a win at Thursday’s conference.
Regional task team co-ordinator Luyolo Nqakula was running for the position of secretary while Bay mayor Eugene Johnson was expected to contest the position of deputy secretary.
Lungisa said he would contest the position of chair to dispel notions that he was not eligible to do so.
He said he had been nominated by the majority of branches and would make himself available for the position.
“Those who thought I’m not eligible wrote letters and a disciplinary process was started because in the province they fear anything that is associated with the name Andile.
“I have no issue, I will contest the region [and] the province because there is the attitude that I cannot,” he said.
Lungisa was convicted of assault with intent to commit grievous bodily harm and jailed for beating DA councillor Rano Kayser over the head with a glass jug at a council meeting in 2016, seriously injuring him.
He was subsequently forced to step down from senior positions in the council and his ANC membership was suspended for 18 months.
However, he successfully appealed against his suspension in September.
Earlier this week, ANC Eastern Cape secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi said the ANC constitution made it clear that anyone with a criminal record did not qualify to contest at a conference.
But a defiant Lungisa said he was contesting to enable change and development for the people of the metro, adding that no other contender could defeat him.
“I am the chairperson with ideas, and we have been having chairpersons who have done nothing, and Lobishe she is a member of the legislature but there is not even one paragraph she had formulated, so there’s a difference and it comes from that idea,” he said.
Lungisa said he had never been defeated in the metro and that his contestation would assist those he was going up against because it would give them much-needed exposure.
“It just becomes very nice for people to contest with Lungisa and provides an opportunity for them to be on front pages, he said.
But Lobishe said she believed she would be the Bay ANC chair come Friday morning.
“I am confident that my name is the one that is going to be announced as the leadership of this metro.
“I am confident from the support that I have been commanding from the BGMs [branch general meetings] — since we started it has been doubled,” she said.
Johnson, who is contesting for the position of deputy secretary, said the will of the branches would prevail.
She said she had been approached and nominated for the position by the branches and could not say no.
“I’m very optimistic, at the end of the day the conference would decide, but for me may the best comrade win,” Johnson said.
HeraldLIVE