Gauteng and KZN are important provinces for the party, says ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.
The ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) will reconvene on Sunday to decide on the possible disbandment of leadership structures in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Gauteng.
The two-day meeting, which began on Saturday, has been engaged in discussions on the future of the provincial executive committees (PECs) in KZN and Gauteng after the party’s poor performance in the 2024 national and provincial elections.
The meeting follows ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa’s emphasis during the January 8th statement on the need to strengthen branches as part of the party’s renewal efforts ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
ANC NEC to decide KZN and Gauteng’s fate
Speaking to the media at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg on Saturday, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the NEC is considering three proposals from the National Working Committee (NWC): to dissolve the two PECs and start anew, provide additional reinforcements, or maintain the existing provincial leadership structures.
He assured that a final decision would be announced after Sunday’s meeting and said the PECs would be informed before any public announcement.
“Thereafter, we’ll convene a press conference where we’ll give the details of the decision that had been taken,” he explained.
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Mbalula also criticised leaks from within the ANC.
“We know you’ve got very interesting sources in our meetings who sometimes distort what we say, but know this for a fact that the ANC will speak for itself and will not speak via sources up until the secretary-general engages with you.
“Whoever reports to you will be second-guessing the decisions of the organisation,” the ANC secretary-general said.
Watch the video below:
[WATCH] The ANC will speak for itself regarding its decision on Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. We are aware that the media has so called “reliable sources” who are always distorting what our meetings are saying. The ANC will never speak to through sources. #ANCNEC#ANCatWork pic.twitter.com/jFXO6okxLI
— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) January 18, 2025
Gauteng and KZN considered as key provinces by ANC NEC
Mbalula stressed that Gauteng and KZN were very important provinces for the ANC despite the significant losses in these provinces.
”As much as the ANC have shared votes in all the nine provinces, but we have lost Gauteng. We have lost the KwaZulu-Natal.
“In KwaZulu-Natal, we registered 17%, and then in Gauteng, it is 35%. So, it’s not only a blame game like all others would like to say.”
READ MORE: Renewal and rebuilding: ANC in KZN and Gauteng will cause Mbalula headaches
The ANC secretary-general highlighted that the party would also focus on challenges in other provinces.
“We have lost power in Western Cape and we’re still struggling to come back. So we don’t want what happened in the Western Cape to follow us in the two provinces. It is important that leadership take decisions and give guidance to the structures.”
Mbalula further dismissed speculation about the NEC’s deliberations.
“Any leadership takes decisions — you are not hamstrung because people are gossiping and are talking things that are untruthful.
“It is the considered view of the NEC that we’ve got to intervene in whatever form to strengthen the African National Congress in these particular provinces.”
Watch the video below:
[WATCH] There is nothing that has been done by the ANC without the knowledge of the structures of the ANC in the two affected provinces. #ANCNEC#ANCatWork pic.twitter.com/8QgFwzkRiq
— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) January 18, 2025
Big names to be deployed?
Meanwhile, City Press reported that prominent ANC figures may be deployed to Gauteng and KZN if the dissolution is given the greenlight by the NEC.
Among the names mentioned are ANC policy head Jeff Radebe, former Correctional Services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele, and former ANC KZN deputy chairperson Mike Mabuyakhulu.
However, the publication noted opposition from President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President Paul Mashatile, former President Thabo Mbeki, and ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe.
These leaders reportedly believe disbanding the PECs without constitutional violations should be a last resort.
