The African National Congress (ANC) has refused to budge on calls to change its KwaZulu-Natal leadership and district leadership, despite a poor performance in the recent election. ANC Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula, said changing the leadership would be a mistake and would rather focus on identifying the root causes of their poor showing in the May election.
Mbalula made these remarks while addressing the media after the National Working Committee (NWC) meeting at eThekwini on Monday. “We are not here to change leadership, what we want to find out is what went wrong for us to be defeated in the elections,” he said.
Some provincial leaders have already approached President Cyril Ramaphosa, expressing their desire to see a change in provincial leadership. Ramaphosa met with provincial leaders in the Moses Mabhida district on Sunday, where the matter was discussed.
Mbalula acknowledged that some party members are unhappy with the provincial leadership, but emphasized that changing leadership is not the solution. “Maybe there are those who want to change it, but as it stands now, there is no decision to change the provincial or district leadership.”
The ANC’s KwaZulu-Natal province has historically been a stronghold for the party. Mbalula noted that KwaZulu-Natal has historically been a stronghold for the ANC, with a high voter turnout. “In the recent election, KwaZulu-Natal had one of the highest voter turnouts, with 58.2% of registered voters casting their ballots. However, it’s clear that a significant portion of those voters supported former President Jacob Zuma’s faction, rather than the ANC as a whole. We need to understand the reasons behind this trend and work to rebuild our support in the province.”
The ANC has committed to rebuilding its party structures, with plans to elect temporary leadership in branches that have been left without leadership due to defections before the election. The NWC meeting concluded on Monday, with a renewed focus on rebuilding and reviving the party’s fortunes in the province.
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