The ANC will decide on the future of its Gauteng and KZN PECs in January 2025, with options including reinforcement, status quo, or disbanding leadership.
The ANC has announced that it will make a final decision on disbanding the KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng Provincial Executive Committees (PECs) in January 2025.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has stated that the decision on interventions in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal will be made after the January 8 Statement and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings.
“No structure is disbanded. All matters will be considered, and the final decision that we explained to you will be taken in January next year,” he said on Monday evening.
‘No ANC structure is disbanded’
The PEC in Gauteng met the ANC’s National Working Committee (NWC) on Monday to discuss their dismal performance at the general elections in May, while the KZK PEC met last week.
The ANC received 34% of the vote in Gauteng and 17% in KZN.
Mbalula described the meeting as “cordial” and “well-mannered,” with President Cyril Ramaphosa opening the address, and he listened to reports by Gauteng ANC leader Panyaza Lesufi.
ALSO READ: ANC shake-up: ‘Disbanding Gauteng and KZN could hurt party’s local election hopes’
What are the three options for the provinces?
- Reinforcement by leadership;
- Maintaining the status quo or
- Disbanding the leadership
The secretary-general said the decision-making process will analyse the three options and their associated risks, and the NWC will present a comprehensive report to officials and his office.
“We have made it very clear to them that nobody discusses matters pertaining to Gauteng. If there’s anything that needs to be communicated to the public, that will be done by the secretary-general,” he said.
Communication from SG
“There are no two centres here.”
The decision to delay the decision on the KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng Provincial Executive Committees (PECs) until January due to insufficient time before the December 16 deadline.
This decision coincides with two consecutive state visits and the South African Communist Party’s (SACP) national congress.
In response to questions, Mbalula revealed that the PECs were given the opportunity to propose a fourth option for their future.
ALSO READ: D-Day for Panyaza Lesufi and his Gauteng ANC PEC
“We need to strengthen the ANC in the two provinces, because in the two provinces, that’s where you’ve got numbers of voters,” he said.
“But at the same time, we need a leadership that responds earlier to the situations, and how we get to do that is a matter that we integrate.”
He added that the ANC is not playing the “blame game.”
No ‘blame game’
“A blame game is when you say that we lost because of you. We are not doing that. What we are doing is saying we dropped to 35%, and what is the challenge?” he said.
Watch the ANC NWC meeting update here:
NOW READ: Lesufi’s defiance raises tensions in ANC leadership
