The party was set to hold a conference in May/July but it failed. It then postponed it to September and again it failed to have a conference. Later it was pushed further into October and again, for the third time, it announced that it failed to prepare and organise the conference.

ALSO READ: ANC Free State once again fails to hold its conference

According to the provincial interim structure, the Interim Provincial Committee's (IPC) spokesperson, Oupa Khoabane, the ANC Free State will NOT have the Provincial Conference at the end of this month, in accordance with its roadmap. This is the third time the party fails to prepare and organise its much-anticipated conference. The party has been riddled with factions and has been unbaled to carry out the mandate of the province into the provincial conference. Khoabane says many Branch Conferences have not qualified, after verification by Head Office, and, as a result, will have to be rerun. The IPC will be meeting on Monday 31 October to review the timelines, Khoabane adds.

It’s understood that in case the IPC’s term of office has lapsed, it will not be allowed to take part or vote in the upcoming National Conference but would be offered an observer status. However, if the party’s higher structure National Executive Committee (NEC) was to appoint a structure, perhaps called an Interim Task Team (ITT) before the conference, the ITT structure would then be given a right to vote and participate fully in terms of the ANC constitution, as included in Rule 10 and 12.

In July 2022, disgruntled ANC members dragged the party’s IPC to the Free State High Court on a matter of urgency. ANC Branch 29 Secretary in Mangaung, Ditaba Mokhutle, said that they were seeking a court judgment against the IPC to be dissolved. He said a number of factors have since ignited the court move and those include the failure to prepare and organise a provincial party conference. Mokhutle said another factor is that the IPC's nine-month lifespan has lapsed.

ALSO READ - #ANCvsANC: IPC taken to Free State court

In April, the ANC’s National spokesperson, Pule Mabe, said the ANC was set to receive a report on the provinces but they expected provinces to hold a conference between May and June.

However, Khoabane then revealed that the IPC had adopted the road map which must culminate with the provincial conference. “The members are expected to renew their membership and ensure that they appear on the branch registers.

This will be amplified through the Siveze campaign. The work of uniting and renewing the organisation is continuing without hindrance and we hope that at the time of going to the provincial conference, much would have been achieved,” he added.

Currently there is case against the IPC brought by disgruntled branches of the party in the Free State High Court. This is the third time the branches of the party took the IPC to court after it failed to prepare and hold the provincial elective conference set to elect the new provincial executive committee (PEC). 

ALSO READ: Factions deepen within Free State ANC as IPC is dragged to court, again

ANC official, Ditaba Makhutle, confirmed that indeed the IPC has been served with court papers by their lawyers.

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