There has been a significant drop in ANC membership numbers since 2012 – but around 200 000 are still on probation and were not counted in the audit, the party’s head of elections Nomvula Mokonyane said.

This was because of a resolution taken at the party’s 2012 Mangaung conference, which states that new members have to be put on a six-month probation, she told News24, speaking on the sidelines of the ANC’s National General Council in Midrand, Johannesburg.

There were also problems around membership renewal and gatekeeping.

“[There are] members who have long applied but their membership has not been processed because of gatekeeping… but there are others who haven’t even been given an opportunity to renew [their membership].

“So organisational discipline is so important and [so is] the turnaround time of applying for membership.”

She said the ANC would implement a more modern system of capturing membership numbers.

The new system will ensure that it is not up to ANC branch leaders to decide who could join the party.

“It will be determined on a system which will be functional… an individual will present him or herself into a process that is run by people independent of the political leadership and the political leaders will get information about who has applied only once everything has been processed.

“It will no longer be somebody’s form disappearing or somebody’s form being taken out of his or her file in the branch.”

According to ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe’s organisational report, which was presented to the NGC on Friday, the party had lost a total of 450 187 members since 2012.

There was a decline in membership numbers in six of the nine provinces. Numbers had increased only in North West, Northern Cape and Western Cape.

In the report Mantashe said the administration and systems of the ANC’s membership had presented challenges over time..