Disbandment not ruled out as ANC intervenes in KZN, Gauteng
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says nothing is well in KZN and Gauteng and the party will take hard decisions to reclaim the provinces.
African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has not ruled out disbanding the KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provincial executive committees (PEC).
The ANC national working committee (NWC) met with KZN leadership on Monday, 2 December in Ekurhuleni.
ANC KZN AND GAUTENG STRUCTURES FACING DISBANDMENT?
The South African previously reported that in August, reports surfaced that the ANC was planning to disband its KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng PECs due to poor electoral results in the 29 May elections.
Nationally, support for the ANC plummeted from 57% to just 40%, while in KwaZulu-Natal, the party dropped from 54% to just 16.9%. Lastly, in Gauteng, the party also dropped from 51% to 34%.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting on Monday, Mbalula said the party has to make hard decisions to fix and reclaim the two provinces as the country prepares for the 2026 local government elections.
“There will be no holy cows. Decisions will be taken to strengthen ourselves in that particular province. Surely, people on the opposition side of politics in KZN are in Ferraris, and we can’t respond to a Ferrari with a [Toyota] conquest. We need to get into an airplane and fly,” he said.
Mbalula also conceded that the ANC lost significantly in KZN and lost regions that were its former strongholds, including eThekwini and Moses Mabhida.
“We’ve emphasised here that there is no blame game; we’re all in this together. The NEC will not be unstrung by not taking decisions on a situation that requires decisive intervention,” Mbalula said.
The NWC is also set to meet with Gauteng leadership this week to deliberate on the poor electoral showing.
TOP SIX NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE TOO
Ahead of the meeting, ANC KZN secretary Bheki Mtolo said Mbalula and Ramaphosa also needed to be held accountable for the party’s dismal electoral showing nationally.
Mtolo said the fact that the party only received 40% of the total votes in the 29 May elections means the NEC lost the elections and Mbalula and Ramaphosa need to take responsibility for that.
“We are taking our responsibility too with [Sboniso] Duma for losing the province and dropping to 17%,” he said.
DO YOU THINK THE ANC NWC WILL DISBAND KZN AND GAUTENG STRUCTURES?
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