The ANC Youth League in the Western Cape has threatened internal action over the "Friends of Fransman" support group.
|||Cape Town - Cracks in the provincial ANC have threatened to widen further, with a planned press conference in support of suspended leader Marius Fransman angering the local ANC Youth League.
Muhammad Khalid Sayed, chairman of the league told Weekend Argus if Fransman attended Sunday’s prayer service – linked to the press conference – the league would lay a complaint with the ANC’s provincial disciplinary committee and national executive committee.
Read: ANC names ‘caretaker leaders’ for Cape
The controversial “Friends of Marius Fransman” campaign, which Fransman appeared to support, had organised the conference.
“We’re not going to take it lying down,” Sayed said.
But the press conference, which was to have been held on Tuesday to outline an action plan to be rolled out next month, was postponed indefinitely on Thursday.
Fransman did not respond to queries on the matter.
Read: Race enters row over Fransman
Bumper Morgan, who has been driving the “Friends” campaign, lashed out at Sayed.
“He’s totally out of order... We are concerned and call on the provincial leadership to unite.”
Morgan would not say why the press conference had been postponed and said Fransman was expected to attend Sunday’s prayer service in Vredendal.
He said the “Friends” campaign had not organised the service, but were was merely publicising it on Facebook.
Read: Fransman in Facebook rant
Sayed, however, said if Fransman attended the service it would show he was openly defying decisions made by the ANC’s national structure.
He said the continued actions of the “Friends of Fransman” campaign were extremely concerning.
“Our view is that these actions indicate that these individuals don’t really understand the very way the ANC operates.
“What we’re also concerned with is the race politics being used.”
Sayed said the campaign could either divide or unite the provincial ANC.
“This is an attempt to further divide the ANC in the province… (But) this onslaught has the ability to bring us together.”
Sayed said the league was not targeting Fransman.
“This is a caution. We’re getting impatient with him legitimising the ‘Friends’ campaign. We’re waiting for him to distance himself.”
On Thursday, national executive committee members Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba and Sue van der Merwe were appointed as caretakers to help the offices of Fransman and provincial ANC secretary Faiez Jacobs.
This after Fransman was told to step down following his suspension last month after being accused of sexually harassing his new personal assistant.
Jacobs was also suspended after being accused of assaulting a colleague.
Weekend Argus
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