By Zukile Majova
- Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi will not be recalled.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa and his deputy Paul Mashatile disagree on the future of Gauteng and KZN structures.
A divided meeting of the ANC national executive committee (NEC) has come short of dissolving the provincial executive committees of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The 87-member highest decision making structure met at the weekend to decide whether to dissolve the two provinces but decided to reconfigure the make-up of the structures.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and deputy president Paul Mashatile disagreed on the future of the Gauteng and KZN structures.
This resulted in a split in the special NEC meeting with some members supporting the Ramaphosa faction and others supporting Mashatile.
ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula said they were responding to the drastic loss of party support in these economic hubs.
“The ANC NEC agreed that the state of organisation in all our provinces required urgent action following the loss of elections. However, the loss the ANC suffered in the two key provinces required immediate action as the two provinces were not only the most populous but also economic hubs of the country.”
The decision to reconfigure the ANC leadership in Gauteng and KZN will not tamper with the structure of government in the two provinces.
This means Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi will not be recalled from office.
Gauteng and KZN have the biggest voting blocs and losing support in these provinces spells disaster for the liberation movement.
In KZN in particular, the emergence of Jacob Zuma’s MK party resulted in the destruction of some ANC branches as members flocked to the new party.
The two provinces have been identified as the worst performers in the last national general elections, when the ANC lost its majority and dropped from over 57% of the national vote to 40%.
In KZN the ANC obtained just 17% of the vote while the MK party garnered 45% of the provincial vote in its maiden electoral showing.
The ANC is now part of an IFP-led coalition which governs the province with the help of the DA and NFP, which was the kingmaker in KZN.
In Gauteng, Lesufi is governing through a coalition after the party obtained 36% of the provincial vote.
This means that the ANC has so far lost three provinces in South Africa – Western Cape, KZN and Gauteng – as the popular vote has been shifting towards the DA and other smaller parties over the past 15 years.
Pictured above: ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula.
Source: MYANC
