Manyoni heads to Cape Town

To join parliament … Former Mangaung Metro executive mayor Thabo Manyoni is being redeployed to the national assembly

The ANC is redeploying former Mangaung Metro executive mayor Thabo Manyoni to become one of the party’s MPs in the national parliament, the party has announced.

The news of Manyoni’s next assignment was broken to the media on Tuesday alongside other resolutions of an ANC leadership summit that was held at Emoya Estate in Bloemfontein from Sunday to Tuesday.

However Manyoni, who is also the deputy chairperson of the ANC in the province, is not the only party leader redeployed, with the other one being Kenalemamg Phukuntsi, the Speaker of the Lejweleputswa District Municipality whom the ANC is sending to the provincial legislature as one of its representatives there.

In a statement issued after the summit ANC provincial secretary William Bulwane said: “The summit also noted the decision of the ANC to deploy Comrade Thabo Manyoni and Comrade Kenalemamg Phukuntsi, the current Speaker of the Lejweleputswa to the provincial legislature. The ANC wishes them well in their responsibilities.”

Meanwhile the provincial ANC resolved to throw its weight behind Minister of Mineral Resources Mosebenzi Zwane.

The minister has been on the receiving end of a flurry of opposition-led criticism after he called for a judicial inquiry into South Africa’s banking system following the decision by the country’s top four banks to withdraw banking facilities from a company owned by the Gupta family.

“The summit emphasised its full support for Comrade Mosebenzi Zwane in his deployment as minister of mineral resources. Comrade Zwane is a tried and tested cadre of the ANC,” the party said in a statement issued after the summit.

Support for Zwane from the Free State ANC – for which he is treasurer — comes on the back of similar backing form the provincial party’s women and youth leagues
The provincial ANC condemned violence witnessed at universities following higher education minister Blade Nzimande’s decision to allow the institutions to hike fees for next year by not more than eight percent.

But it also used the summit to reaffirm its support for the position of the ANC national executive committee (ANC) calling for a freeze on university fee increments.

“We further reaffirm the decision of the NEC that there shall be no fee increases effected by institutions of higher learning. We call on all to implement this decision,” it said.

A meeting of the NEC last month recommended that universities not increase fees, however ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe last week said the party fully supported Nzimande’s decision to allow administrators to decide whether or not to ask students to pay more.

The summit was attended by all structures of the ANC in the province including the veterans, youth and women’s leagues.