Africa-Press – South-Africa. Getting the DA in the Western Cape below 50% and putting an end to factional fighting are top of the agenda of the newly elected ANC Western Cape provincial secretary, Neville Delport.
Speaking to News24 a day after his victory, the influential leader, who hails from the West Coast town of Vanrhynsdorp, spoke of the importance of unity.
“There is a lot of hard work that lies ahead of us. We have a few by-elections taking place in the Southern Cape area, and then we will focus on dividing the sub-committee and establishing our provincial working committee. We will then plough all our energies into our election plan,” Delport said.
At the weekend, delegates to the ANC Western Cape’s ninth elective conference voted Vuyiso JJ Tyhalisisu as chairperson, with Sharon Davids as deputy chairperson, Ayanda Bans was elected deputy secretary, and Derek Appel stood unopposed for the position of treasurer.
The new leadership brings an end to the interim provincial committee,, who had led the party for nearly four years.
According to Delport, the main goal was to root out groupings and factions. He said he wanted a united party going into 2024.
“Our first plan is to get all ground structures effective again to ensure that these structures can rally behind the newly elected leadership.
“The issue of factionalism needs to be addressed. All structures and groupings in the run-up to the elections should be broken down immediately and we need to be united,” he said.
Asked about the prospects of the 2024 election campaign, Delport said:
In the 2009 general elections, the ANC lost the Western Cape to the DA – and has been on a downward spiral ever since. The ANC won 31% of the vote in 2009 and fell to 28% in the 2019 elections.
Delport said the new leadership’s main task was to address problems faced by communities on a street-by-street basis.
“Our success lies in that. Once we have our structures in place, we can make a difference,” he said.
“I am on the ground, I am not really office-bound. By being on the ground, I can attend to some of these problems.”
The conference was dominated by a faction, known as the Rurals for Change, led by Lerumo Kalako, who was the provincial convenor, while Delport served as his second-in-command.
Previously, Delport said that Rurals for Change had the support of more than 90% of the rural branches.
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