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The provincial executive committee (PEC) of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has been mandated to engage with the party's national executive committee (NEC) on the "challenges" of managing messages at events around former president Jacob Zuma's ongoing fraud and corruption case.
New provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli told journalists at a media briefing in Durban on Wednesday that the recent KwaZulu-Natal elective conference resolved that while all members must comply and respect the decision of NEC in relation to support offered to members facing legal challenges, it was important for the province to share its own experience on the implementation of that decision.
"Our difficulty now is that we are not in charge of organising Zuma's events after his court appearances. Now those events are infiltrated by individuals who want to profile their own missions and agenda that they want to pursue in our country," said Ntuli.
He said announcements made by some "characters" at those events had a negative impact on the movement.
READ: Vote for Ramaphosa, Zuma tells supporters
Ntuli said it was easier to control who spoke at Zuma's court appearance events when the PEC was still organising them.
Zuma appeared at the High Court in Pietermaritzburg last Friday on fraud and corruption charges.
Black First Land First's (BLF) Andile Mngxitama and Radical Economic Transformation's Nkosentsha Shezi were some of the people who were not ANC members who spoke to a crowd of Zuma's supporters after his court appearance.
Ntuli said they expected Zuma to campaign for the ANC "as and when he is assigned" as he is a former president of the party.
'JZ would never campaign for another party'
Zuma has previously said that he did not need an invitation to campaign for the party.
Ntuli also denied that Zuma used the platform to ask people to vote for Mngxitama's BLF.
"I'm not aware if anyone has approached him on that because those who were in court understood the context of what he said. No one from the PEC has approached him. It will be unbelievable for JZ (Zuma) to campaign for any party besides the ANC," said Ntuli.
Ntuli said the PEC held its inaugural meeting on July 28, where the provincial working committee was elected and where PEC members were deployed to various subcommittees.
READ: 5 new things we learned from Zuma's latest court appearance
He said they noted that the Harry Gwala, Lower South Coast and Moses Mabhida regions had not convened their respective regional conferences "due to a number of challenges".
"The PEC has directed the provincial working committee to consolidate the unity of the organisation and prepare regional conferences before the end of August 2018. This is important in order that there is authority and legitimacy in all regions as we approach the 2019 national general elections," he said.
Ntuli also denied media reports that the PEC was planning to reshuffle the provincial cabinet.
"It would be unthinkable to engage in any discussions to reshuffle cabinet in the province. It would be irrational at this stage if the PEC takes [a] decision to reshuffle cabinet because there are only 9 months left before the elections," he said.
