FORMER Nelson Mandela Bay ANC regional chairman Mike Xego has criticised the current boss, Nceba Faku, for supporting Kgalema Motlanthe for the ANC presidency, contrary to a decision by his executive.
Xego was reacting to Faku's public comments about his decision to go against his comrades who support President Jacob Zuma's election in Mangaung in December.
This was after regional secretary Zandisile Qupe earlier this week pronounced that the majority of the city's leadership would back Zuma.
Xego accused Faku of always presenting an individualistic view and using his frustrations of not being able to remove Bay mayor Zanoxolo Wayile to settle a score.
"You have conflicting views from the chair and the secretary. No chairman can come with his own view when the REC [regional executive committee] has made a decision. [Faku] must stop playing games when it comes to giving political direction.
"The confusion is with Faku who has always presented an individualistic view; he has never stuck with the collective view. That view is a breach of discipline of the constitution of the ANC," Xego said.
He said Faku was merely bitter because Zuma had not removed Wayile after his visit to the Bay along with a delegation of national ANC leaders to intervene in the political impasse in the city last month.
Xego said: "Can you judge the president on something you personally think is right?
"Can the removal of Wayile be the litmus stick to decide if Zuma should be president or not?
"Nceba doesn't qualify to sit in the REC chairman position. He doesn't understand the workings of the ANC and its constitution.
"Nceba speaks of change because the change is only a change that is subjective to him."
On Wednesday, Faku said he was supporting the move for change.
"I'm not saying nothing good has been done during Zuma's term, but there are things that are compelling us not to re-elect him.
"We had a regional conference of the ANC and took a decision [to reshuffle the mayoral committee]. We followed up on that decision with the NEC [national executive committee] and, to this day, we are still awaiting a decision on our appeal in pursuing the resolution of the conference," Faku said earlier.
Xego said the REC should call Faku to account for betraying the views of the region.
"He is betraying the views of a meeting that he presided over. He is the custodian of that decision of the REC.
"Nceba is behaving in an obstructing way in contravention of the constitution of the ANC."
Xego wants the region to stop focusing on who should lead the party nationally, but rather concentrate on getting quality comrades from the Bay into the NEC.
University of SA political analyst Shadrack Gutto said Faku's personal views did not go against the ANC's constitution.
"The region is divided, so when it goes to the voting we can expect the vote to be divided. It's just political posturing for people to say he should be disciplined because he did not vote as a block.
"It's a tradition to vote as a collective rather than something that is vetted in the constitution. An individual is not compelled to vote as a collective," Gutto said.
