“He is going to finish what is left of the ANC in The Free State”, said an ANC member

Staff reporter

Bloemfontein – The newly elected provincial secretary of the African National Congress (ANC) in the Free State Province, Polediso “50 000 Jobs For the Youth” Motsoeneng is again in the spotlight, this time he is accused of proving that unity and renewal are just as nonexistent as service delivery under the ANC led government.

This follows the suspension of two ANC members who belong to a Regional Executive Committee that held a conference at President Hotel while the other faction held its conference at Imvelo Lodge on the same weekend, in Mangaung.

According to the first letter he sent to the spokesperson of one of the two REC, Motsoeneng asked Fani why he should not be suspended after he allegedly released a media statement in his capacity as the spokesperson for the REC and was given 48 hours to do so.

Part of the letter dated 7 February 2023, reads.

“You are fully aware that the secretary general has issued correspondence in terms of which an investigation was to ensure about the regional conference in Mangaung. Whilst awaiting the outcome therein, you proceeded to conduct yourself in a manner contrary to the constitution of the ANC.”

At that conference, Lelimo was elected as a spokesperson.

In return, Ledimo handed the letter to Tonto Selebedi, Regional Secretary who asked Motsoeneng to explain his letter as Ledimo didn’t release the media release as an individual but communicated the views of the regional committee. Selebedi indicated to Motsoeneng that both regional and parallel structures are recognized and the ANC national has conceded to this.

A portion of Selebedi’s letter dated 10 February 2023, reads.

“We wish to register our concern that your letter of notice to suspend comrade Fannie Lelimo raises more questions than providing answers as well as the way forward for the ANC both in the Mangaung Region and perhaps the province as a whole.

Firstly, we wish to register the following critical points;

1. In your letter you refer to the correspondence from the Secretary-General but you did not bother to share the same with either Comrade Fannie or us as the duly elected REC.
2. Please accept that he has referred the matter to us and we have therefore advised him that we will take up the matter on his behalf and will report back to him after we engage with the PEC.
3. Secondly, there are no particulars provided in terms of how the statement is a contravention of the Constitution of the ANC.
4. Thirdly, it is our submission that the tone and spirit of the letter to Comrade Fannie are premised on the intention to silence any dissenting or different views within the ANC and its structures. We expected that full details and particulars on the alleged contraventions would be articulated. Even if we assume that you are correct in your approach, which we don’t, no member can be charged and not be informed in clear particulars how his conduct, action, omission, or utterances constitute misconduct.
   Anything to the contrary is a miscarriage of justice. ANC and its operatives as leaders of society must lead by example on matters like this one.
5. Fourthly, you do not indicate what has happened to all the issues that are still
   outstanding and when are we going to receive a full report on them?

It is therefore our submission and understanding that your letter to Comrade Fannie is premature and not in line with the spirit and commitment of the ANC to the Unity and Renewal Program. On the contrary, we view it as arbitrary and meant to scare and silence all those who were not at Imvelo.”

In conclusion, Selebedi asked that branches be convened and reports of both conferences are interrogated.

“To be able to deal progressively and in line with the Unity and Renewal Program, we would propose that the following needs happen urgently;

1. That the letter of intention to suspend Comrade Fannie Lelimo is withdrawn. This is borne out of the reality that he was not acting on his own but was expressing the view of the collective leadership of the duly elected REC.
2. That you convene an urgent meeting of the two REC to fully and honestly engage so that there is a lasting solution to all the matters.
3. That the outstanding report regarding all the disputes and issues that were raised before both the Regional Conferences and the Provincial Conference is released and made available to all of us.
4. That the report from the task team from National be released and made available to all of us.
5. That Branches are convened to a meeting where all these matters will be discussed.
6. That the reports of both the PEC meeting and the NEC meeting where the Mangaung matter
   was discussed are released and made available to all of us. We were given an undertaking and impression that Mangaung matters will be discussed as a matter of urgency.
7. We also note that the conduct of the PEC as well as the undertone of the letter penned to Cde Fanie gives a clear impression that the PEC has decided to recognize the Imvelo REC as the legitimate one despite your assertions that a report is outstanding in this regard.
8. Finally, we are worried that there seems to be a lack of consistency when dealing with issues and members. We intend to go into detail on this matter during the meeting.
   We are therefore calling on you to urgently call the meeting that we propose.

What followed was a letter dated 10 February 2023, from Motsoeneng asking Selebedi to confirm or distance himself from the letter he sent representing Lelimo and was given till 14 February 2023 to provide clarity.

Three days later on 17 February 2023, both Lelimo and Selebedi were suspended pending the finalization of the disciplinary proceedings.

Did Lelimo release a statement without the REC knowing? In the same breath does it mean Motsoeneng’s actions are his individual decisions?

What was interesting about this particular conference is the IPC which Motsoeneng was part had sent representatives namely Mamiki Qabathe and Kelebogile Wesi, in their remarks they made it clear they were sent by the IPC.

Both conferences had IPC representatives.

Sources in the ANC say how the Motsoeneng is handling things will finish what is left of the ANC in the Free State.

“He is going to finish what is left of the ANC in Free State and is a spit in the face of RENEWAL and UNITY.”

Another source from Thabo Mofutsanyane said Motsoeneng is trigger-happy and that could be the end of the era in the ANC.

“Those who come from Thabo Mofutsane know him to be trigger-happy and this could be an end of an era in the ANC if he is not stopped, this is just the beginning.”

In January during the January 8 celebration Fikile Mbalula, Secretary General of the ANC admitted that Mangaung has two structures and tasked David Mahlobo, National Executive Committee (NEC) member to investigate and provide a detailed report by the 13 January 2023, to date the report has not been released and there has never been official word from the ANC in this regard but ANC FS as expected seemingly endorsed a faction that supported Southern Sun and held an induction this past week.

On the day of the provincial conference, we asked Mahlobo about the status of the conferences and this is what he said.

WATCH:

We also asked Mahlengi Bengu, spokesperson for the ANC about the status of the hanging regional conferences and she did not respond.

Lejweleputswa Regional Conference was also marred with violent scenes and police were called in to block other delegates from participating.

In other news, Imvelo Lodge is allegedly owed and unconfirmed reports indicate the account balance is a mere R17 000.00.

We asked Oupa Khoabane, former spokesperson how much the ANC owed Imvelo Lodge and who paid Mangaung Regional Conference and he did not respond.

If what happened at Lekgotla is anything to go by, the poor Municipal Managers and government officials were asked to pay R10 000s, they will surely be asked to contribute to the debt.

For a party claiming to fight corruption, this is funny.

Last year we reported at least 44 cases of corruption and fraud under investigation by HAWKS.

There are at least 44 cases of corruption and fraud under investigation by Hawks in the Free State Province

Following Friday’s article in which we shared a text purported to be a suggestion to stabilize the province, one can only come to one conclusion, they want to loot.

1. All HOD’s to be moved to the Premier’s Office in the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit.
2. All CFO’s to be removed as their allegiance is with Ace and Mantobela.
3. All SCM Directors are to be moved and placed in Treasury for Monitoring all Municipalities’ Performance.
4. All Human Resources Chief Directors and Directors be removed.
5. Urgent Skills Audit as some of these are without qualifications.

For the only province featured in the State Capture Commission, it looks like nothing was learned as a political party is making executive decisions.

While the focus is on the provincial government, the municipalities mostly ANC led are in shambles. None of the FS municipalities got a clean audit.

This is a developing story.

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