There's no Lungisa matter before the NEC: Mantashe
The ANC's secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, says the matter of Nelson Mandela Bay ANC regional chairperson, Andile Lungisa, will not be discussed at the party's ongoing National Executive Committee meeting.
Mantashe and Lungisa have been involved in a public spat, with a series of letters exchanged between the two.
He has however refused to do so, defying Mantashe, who maintains him holding the position would be unconstitutional.
Speaking to journalists ahead of the start of the NEC meeting in Pretoria, Mantashe said not everybody understands the party's constitution: "Some of us don't understand how the ANC works. The NEC cannot be converted into a disciplinary committee. Those things are dealt with by smaller committees if there is need for a disciplinary process. The NEC is not for that".
"There is no individual who refers anything to the NEC. Everybody writes a letter to the office of the secretary-general in the ANC and we process it accordingly. It is not a Lungisa matter, by the way - it is a principle issue. That's all the NEC can confirm or change. People in higher organs don't stand for election in lower organs," Mantashe said.
"We are also tabling the annual report on the state of the organisation. It will be an overview of 2016 and try to craft a way forward," Mantashe said.