ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has called on the party’s leadership in KwaZulu-Natal to be united and refrain from fighting among themselves, warning that this gives the ruling party’s enemies an easy point of attack.
Speaking at the ANC’s Manifesto Review rally at Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg yesterday, Mbalula also called for an end to the killing of councillors, saying those responsible should be arrested.
He noted that last year’s provincial conference – when Sihle Zikalala was defeated by Siboniso Duma for the position of ANC KZN chairperson – had been a bruising one, but stressed that this should not be grounds for infighting.
“To the PEC (Provincial Executive Committees) members, please lead the ANC and do not fight among yourselves. I know you fought bitterly at the provincial conference, but that has come and gone now,” said Mbalula.
Political contestations were a feature in the party, he said, and pointed out that former health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize had remained in the ANC despite losing in his bid for the party presidency, saying this was a sign of commitment to the ruling party.
Party insiders cited some provincial cabinet appointments made after the conference last year and the reshuffle in which MEC Ntuthuko Mahlaba was moved from Public Works to Sports and Recreation as illustrations of the squabbles that Mbalula was referring to.
In addition to this, they cited the recent problems with the ANC Women’s League elective conference which was nullified by the league’s national structure.
“That has really divided the PEC because some believe that the leadership erred in siding with the structure and others say that the mother body of the Women’s League was being defiant, so there are differences and tensions in the PEC,” said another party member.
He added that such divisions ran right down to the regions but were being ignored because of the 2024 elections.
“A united ANC in KZN is very important for the ANC and determines how things will look in the national picture,” the ANC member said.
Political analyst Thabani Khumalo cited the recent by-election victories by the IFP in some municipalities as the reason Mbalula was calling for focus from the PEC.
“There are suggestions, including some research reports, that indicate that the ANC is losing support in KZN and the provincial leadership has to take responsibility for that,” said Khumalo.
He noted that the publicity generated by the announcement of the DA’s Chris Pappas as the KZN premier candidate as another development which had rattled the KZN PEC.
“The sense is that while the national body may want to act against the KZN PEC because the elections are just months away, that could derail the ruling party and KZN is going to be one of the key battlegrounds for the ANC,” Khumalo said.
The ANC in KZN was facing an uphill battle in trying to ensure that regions performed well enough to convince the electorate to vote for them in 2024 elections, the analyst said.
Mbalula also appealed to the party faithful to form community structures to assist the government in fighting crime, and acknowledged that this was made more difficult owing to rotten elements in the police service.
“We have police officers who work with criminals so when a case is opened against a criminal, such officers report back to them. We must flush such elements out of the police service.”
ANC KZN chairperson Siboniso Duma said the ruling party had a 41-page document containing its achievements, the challenges and how they planned to overcome them.
He cited the road network and the many health-care centres in KZN as examples of what the ANC government had achieved over the years.
According to Duma, the weekend’s MTN8 soccer final, a sold-out affair at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, was part of the government’s plan to revive the provincial economy.
SACP chairperson Dr Blade Nzimande commended the ANC on the manifesto review exercise. The ruling party should use the platform to communicate with the people, and acknowledge where it had not done well, he said.
“We must be frank and honest; nothing should be swept under the carpet when it comes to the performance of the government,” said Nzimande, affirming the SACP’s support for the ANC in next year’s elections.