[ad_1]
- A defiant Andile Lungisa has refused to resign.
- A letter was sent to him to resign from his position on the council and he was also suspended as a member of the ANC.
- In a letter to the provincial secretary, Lungisa said the NEC only ruled that those found corrupt and in leadership positions should resign.
A defiant Andile Lungisa will not resign his position on the Nelson Mandela Bay council because the resolution of the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) does not refer to him.
This was Lungisa’s position in a letter he wrote to the ANC’s Eastern Cape Provincial Secretary.
Lungisa received a suspension letter from the provincial executive committee (PEC) on Tuesday, along with an instruction to resign from his position on the council.
The PEC resolved to suspend him, citing his 2018 conviction for aggravated assault when, during a council fight, Lungisa smashed a glass jar on the head of a DA councilman.
In a letter seen by News24, Lungisa said that the NEC did not rule that ordinary members, who do not hold leadership positions, should resign from public office, “unless they are attacking me for an ulterior purpose. I would like to believe this not the case, “he wrote.
“Furthermore, and for the reasons expressed in more detail in this document, I cannot accept that my membership in the ANC be suspended,” he said.
He added that, instead of resorting to confrontations with the PEC, he preferred to resolve problems around the table and according to the ANC’s dispute resolution mechanisms.
Lungisa has been at odds with the ANC provincial leadership and regional task force coordinator Luyolo Nqakula for months.
The tensions between Lungisa and the PEC led by Oscar Mabuyane began in 2017 when Mabuyane won the provincial elections in the conference called “festival of the chairs”.
READ | Andile Lungisa goes for the jugular when ordered to resign and her ANC membership suspended
The Lungisa camp, which campaigned furiously for Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as president of the ANC, refused to accept the incumbent leadership.
When the ANC’s Nelson Mandela Bay region was unable to hold an elective conference, the Mabuyane-led PEC dissolved the regional leadership and put a task force in its place.
However, some in the Dlamini-Zuma camp in the region felt that was the way Mabuyane was getting in.
READ HERE | Cogta MEC turns upside down, denies that it intended to dissolve Nelson Mandela Bay’s council
Lungisa was said to have played a decisive role in removing the mayor of DA Athol Trollip on the subway, prompting the ANC and smaller opposition parties to seize power.
After his conviction, Lungisa was instructed to resign as a member of the mayoral council, but defied orders from the party, which had some support at Luthuli House.
At the urging of Secretary General Ace Magashule, he resigned two years later.
In August, after massive criticism of the ANC’s attitude toward corruption in its ranks, the NEC ruled that all those found to be involved in wrongdoing should resign and submit to the integrity commission.
Technicality
Focusing on the technicality of the NEC resolution, Lungisa said the instruction only referred to those in leadership positions.
“The only leadership position I currently occupy is that of being a BET member of the Nelson Mandela Bay Region District 2. In this regard, please kindly accept this as my official resignation from this leadership position,” he said.
He adds that he finds it “strange” that he is being asked to resign as an ordinary member of the council and “surprising” that his membership in the ANC is suspended.
“I acknowledge that I was convicted of assault charges, because I protected myself during a fight at a council meeting against the district attorney.
“However, and more importantly, the NEC resolution that you refer to in your response letter has a clear clause that states that ‘this will be a turning point in the fight against corruption.’
“You are certainly fully aware that I have not been charged or convicted of corruption, which is the main basis of the NEC’s resolutions.”
READ ALSO | Ace Magashule convinced me to quit – Andile Lungisa
Lungisa dug in his heels and said that the appeal of his criminal conviction constitutes a stay of the findings in terms of the ANC and the country’s constitutions.
“I do not and cannot accept a suspension of my membership, which was suggested irregularly. The NEC and the PEC, among others, have the reasons of power in terms of rule 25.56 of the ANC constitution.
“However, neither the NEC nor the PEC resolved that my membership in the ANC be suspended as there can be no fair reasons for the suspension, especially as I am still awaiting the outcome of my appeal in my criminal matter.”
OPINION | The ANC: Not leading in Nelson Mandela Bay
Furthermore, he wrote that, according to the ANC constitution, a member has a formal procedure, which is fair and equitable, the right to be heard, defend himself and the right to appeal.
He added that, according to the suspension letter from the PEC, he suggested that the NEC took an “ultra vires” resolution of the ANC’s constitutional provisions and deprived it of its right to be heard.
Lungisa said:
In addition, I am of the respectful opinion that what should have happened is that the NEC should have referred all those members according to their resolutions taken from August 28 to 30 to disciplinary hearings and / or the integrity commission for the matters that they said. members are currently facing. retrospectively and then present the resolutions as they are made prospectively.
Efforts to reach Provincial Secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi were unsuccessful.
Do you want to know more about this topic? Sign up to receive one of 33 News24 newsletters to receive the information you want in your inbox. There are special newsletters available to subscribers.
