Deep divisions within the ANCWL in North West raise concerns over legitimacy, with disputes over conference processes and delegate selection.
The ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) Bojanala region and North West provincial executive committee are at each other’s throats – and the fractures run deeper than mere procedural disputes in the election of the PEC and the pending regional conference.
The unfolding battle has seen the region contesting the legitimacy, transparency and the very integrity of the league’s senior structure in the province.
Bojanala ANCWL members challenge provincial leadership
At the heart of the conflict is last December’s provincial conference, which Bojanala members insist was riddled with irregularities. They said the processes were manipulated, guidelines ignored and disputes brushed aside.
These issues, they argue, have now spilt into the league’s regional conferences, threatening to undermine the league’s credibility at every level.
The Bojanala branches were quick to oppose the regional conference scheduled on 28-29 March.
Their objections were not about timing alone – as they argue that the road map for the conference was never properly reviewed or circulated, as ANCWL guidelines require.
Instead, the announcement appeared casually on social media, a move that, for many, symbolised disregard for due process.
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Although the conference has since been postponed, the grievances remain unresolved.
Provincial secretary Nombuyiselo Adoons said all regional conferences scheduled for last weekend were delayed due to overlapping ANC events.
Demands still stand
But Bojanala members insist the postponement is cosmetic as their demands still stand.
Their deeper concern is the delegates lined up to participate in the meeting are illegitimate, fraudulently included without the necessary audits or verification reports. They alleged in Moretele’s ward 17, a deceased person was reportedly listed as a delegate and issued a name tag.
In Moses Kotane’s ward 1, someone who isn’t an ANCWL member was allegedly allowed to vote as a PEC member. In Kgetleng, three branches allegedly engaged in fraud.
In Madibeng, almost all branches bypassed prescribed processes.
And in Rustenburg, 23 branches failed to follow the required guidelines. They point to systemic manipulation that, if left unchecked, will corrode the body’s legitimacy.
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