Time to end destructive era in E Cape

THE ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting this weekend may signal that the organisation is finally determined to address the ongoing crisis in the Eastern Cape. It is expected that Premier Nosimo Balindlela will be redeployed in a diplomatic posting and that the process of restoring unity in the province and, critically, addressing the significant challenges in service delivery will correctly be prioritised.

It was clear at last month‘s plenary session of the Bhisho legislature that the majority of ANC members had lost faith in the Balindlela administration. No direct call was made for her resignation but speeches from the ANC benches reflected the deep dissatisfaction and recognition that with some exceptions the delivery of services particularly in areas such as health had reached dismal levels.

The process of re-establishing unity within the ANC will be given additional impetus by the provincial conference to be held in December when questions around the legitimacy of the current provincial executive committee will be addressed through the holding of fresh elections. There is also a need to expedite the election of a new regional executive in Nelson Mandela Bay as part of this process.

Together that should at least lay the foundations for an end to the factionalism although it would be naïve to believe that the divisions that have become deeply entrenched over close to a decade will disappear overnight. The contents of the Pillay Commission report is evidence of the extent to which the battle within the ranks of the organisation is still raging.

In its deliberations this weekend we believe that the NEC must not be tempted to order a new provincial cabinet that reflects the results at Polokwane. That will achieve nothing other than prolonging the current factionalism at the expense of fulfilling the mandate in terms of which the ruling party was elected in 2004. However much the hurt and what has taken place since 2004, the desire for a purge must be resisted. What has transpired since the first purge in 2002 is evidence of how important it is that this path is not pursued.

Rather, the criteria for the election of a new premier if Balindlela is removed must be the ability of that person to craft together a team of politicians and officials able to drive the development of the province, breathing life into existing initiatives and forging the basis for new ones.

The new team must be selected on the basis of its ability to create employment; to provide the infrastructure that is still sorely lacking in the areas of health and education; address issues of hunger, deprivation and under-development; build houses and drive the development of agriculture and expand the economic base of the Eastern Cape.

It is quite likely that if this course of action is pursued that the next provincial cabinet will be a mix of the two major factions in the province. That will be healthy as it will be a gesture of reconciliation and an indication of determination to rise above the differences of the past in the interests of the people of the Eastern Cape.

We believe that if the decisions taken this weekend are based on sound criteria and the temptation to purge those loyal to President Thabo Mbeki is resisted, that there is every chance that a decidedly unpleasant and destructive chapter in the history of the Eastern Cape will come to an end. It will, however, require emotions to be stilled and the good of the people of this province to be recognised as paramount.

Opinion