Doreen Mokgolo
The ruling party’s membership has dropped significantly since 2007 with Mpumalanga, North West and Free State showing the biggest losses.
This was discussed during the closed session of the 55th ANC National Conference held at Nasrec, Johannesburg on Saturday.
The report dealt with the decline in national membership since 2007 with Mpumalanga declining of 62.64% in 2022.
North West membership went down by 54.78% followed by the Free State with a decline of 48.42%.
The decline is credited to the slow turnaround with issuing membership cards, preventing gatekeeping, accounting for profile of members and their life in the organisation.
The report also suggest that the suspension of the Secretary-General, Ace Magashule
in May 2021 and the recall of former president Jacob Zuma as president in February 2018 played a part in the ruling party losing members.
In May 2021 Magashule was forced to step aside due to his pending criminal case linked to the Free State asbestos scandal.
Magashule’s bid to get back into the work of the party by taking the decision to court was dismissed in August.
The report described the suspension of the secretary general as a first in the history of the ANC and a testing moment in the affairs of the party.
“This is a painful matter for the ANC to see an elderly who is in his retirement having to contend with criminal cases.”
Pictured above: ANC member
Image source: @Radio786
