Chikane left off ANC mayoral list in ‘error’, explains Mbalula - TimesLIVE

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has confirmed that the party’s front-runner for the Johannesburg mayoral candidacy, Reverend Frank Chikane, is not on the list because of an “error”.

According to Mbalula, this will be corrected — possibly after the election, should the electoral court dismiss the ANC’s appeal against the decision by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to refuse to hear its case about the list submission.

This follows a Sunday Times report that an administrative lapse left Chikane, Andile Lungisa — the ANC’s mayoral candidate in Nelson Mandela Bay — and Nocawe Mafu, the mayoral candidate for Buffalo City, off the list.

According to the report, this, and the inability to submit the party’s full list of councillor candidates ahead of the local government election, are why some ANC national executive committee (NEC) members are calling for Mbalula to be held accountable and face a disciplinary hearing.

Although he did not name anyone, Mbalula confirmed that an error led to some names being left off the list.

“You also reported about the issue of mayoral candidates who are not on the list; that is an error, and it will be resolved because they belong [on] the PR [proportional representation] list,” said Mbalula.

“The majority of our mayoral candidates are on the lists. Those who are not, and if they are nominated, finally, as mayors, by the collective of the top seven, will be included in the list.”

Mbalula said he does not regard this as a crisis because it can be corrected.

“There’s no crisis about that — that so-and-so is not included and all of that — in terms of the mayoral candidates.”

Mbalula said he was not deterred by those calling for him to be suspended — people he says he thought were his comrades and “loved each other”.

“I don’t get perplexed when comrades, even my own comrades that I trust, that I believe in, that I toiled with, [that] I thought we loved each other as comrades, insult me in the streets and do not come to me at Luthuli House. And even when I give them reports in the meetings of the organisation, they go to you — and I don’t blame you — and give you reports that I gave in the meetings of the ANC,” said Mbalula.

He said he has never run away from taking accountability and that he would be the first to admit if he had done anything wrong.

Mbalula also challenged those with evidence of wrongdoing to come forward. His comment comes after reports of alleged manipulation of the lists and that he reopened them after the NEC had already ratified them — something that is not allowed.

But Mbalula said the amendments he made on Friday, the IEC deadline day, were requested by the NEC.