Blackman Ngoro

Local and provincial leaders of the ANC whose positions are threatened by the August perfomance evaluation exercise as the ANC prepares for the December nomination list are at the centre of the xenophobic atttacks which started in Alexandra, Online Asia Africa News has found.

The souces said that they expected attacks on foreigners to be serious until December when the nomination process will be completed and for these attacks to die down after that.

The sources preferred to withhold their identities for fear of victimization.

According to ANC deputy president Motlanthe who spoke to a local daily newspaper in a report published in The Star on the 13th of May this process of performance evaluation to begin in August would end with the December nomination conference.

The final list to consist of nominations for provincial and national leaders will be taken into the 2009 elections.

The process of weeding out so-called deadwood is said to have started in Polokwane where pro-Mbeki officials lost to pro-Zuma ones.

This process of weeding out pro-Mbeki ANC leaders was said to be responsible for the current wave of terrorism against Africans from other countries.

It has been reported that those who went about pouring petrol and tourching a man in Alexandra and those who went about on rampage dispossessing these foreign Africans sang ANC president Jacob Zuma's signature song "Umshini Wame".

However Zuma has since denounced these faceless people and asserted that the song belonged to the ANC and questioned the right of these people to sing it while on their xenophobic attacks.

In December ANC members will nominate party candidates for the position of president and public representatives.

"The branches are provided with that (evaluation) information and, on the basis of that, they do the nominations to the list. Some people make it and others don't" Motlanthe told the newspaper.

It is this process which begun at Polokwane with the purging of pro-Mbeki officials within the ANC which is showing its ugly head through the attacks on foreigners by groups mandated to do so by politicians who fear losing their positions as the ANC prepares for the evaluation exercises.

These politicians, according to sources had resorted to using xenophobia as a way to enhance their chances of being nominated.

"They know that this is a contentious issue which any faceless leader using behind the scenes support can get them nominated. It is populist but disgusting. Just watch which politicians will make it to the list from such areas as where the attacks have occurred." the source said.

The ANC is currently regarded as highly polarised with divisions between those who support national president Thabo Mbeki and those who support ANC president Jacob Zuma.