ANC KZN task team: Mbalula announces leadership shake-up after major ‘disappointment’
The political future of KwaZulu-Natal ANC coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu and convener Jeff Radebe is uncertain after ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula questioned the work of the task team and said restructuring will be taking place.
Image: Supplied
ANC members have detailed the challenges that rendered the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Task Team (PTT) ineffective, leading to its pending disbandment by the ANC national office.
They stated that the PTT has a bloated structure to accommodate different factions, is unable to deliver in key areas, and had lagged behind in some of its tasks. They added that some members were still angling for power, thereby creating tensions.
The PTT is led by party veterans Jeff Radebe and Mike Mabuyakhulu, and was appointed a few months ago after the provincial leadership was disbanded following catastrophic losses during the general elections last year.
When the structure was first put in place, it went on a charm offensive, holding several meetings with the business community, professionals, civil society, and the religious community to hear their concerns as part of an effort to put the ANC back at the centre of communities.
However, its inability to revive the KZN ANC was laid bare this week as many of its branches did not participate in the party's National General Council (NGC) because they were not in good standing.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula announced that the KZN PTT had been a disappointment and was going to be disbanded. He said it failed in its mission and had instead been preoccupied with fighting over who should lead it.
“KZN is a big disappointment in terms of our intervention. There are going to be changes in KZN; that structure is too big, and we are going to make it leaner and bring in new people around February. We are not happy about our performance there; we thought we were bringing a Ferrari, but it is a Tazz that is operating there.
“In KZN, we disbanded a structure because we are facing an existential crisis. What do the people (that we sent there to fix the problem) do? They are busy fighting each other over who must lead, not the task we gave them. What do we do with such people? We put them aside. We are going to get people who are going to build the ANC in KZN, root and branch, not people who are concerned about who must lead,” Mbalula said.
An ANC member in the Midlands said the change was necessary: “These people are elderly; they should be replaced. The office was bigger than them, and they seemed to have been shell-shocked and had not expected to go back to the office, so they struggled. One of the big problems they faced was that they were behind in terms of schedules, something that should have been done two months ago; they were only doing it now.”
Another ANC member said the frustration was largely a result of the PTT not meeting some of its targets in terms of convening branches and electing branch leadership.
“In the PTT, the senior leaders worked very well. You need to understand that the two leaders have no interest in leading the province. Radebe was a leader in the NEC; you cannot come from the NEC to lead a province, whilst Mabuyakhulu might qualify if branches elect him. However, it has been the younger generation that has shown interest in leading the province,” said the member.
An ANC insider said as part of Luthuli House's plan to be inclusive, they made the structure too big. “There was never any clear plan of what the PTT wanted to achieve. Many regions, sub-regions, and branches remain in tatters.”
Political analyst Siyabonga Ntombela said Mbalula's announcement is a move to try to reset the KZN ANC position after its poor performance in previous general elections.
“He is trying to instil fear in the hearts of those who are not serious about the renewal of the ANC. This decision will not sit well with some in the KZN ANC structures, and it will mean more factions going into the local government elections. This might have an adverse impact if the numbers are with those who will be aggrieved by this decision,” Ntombela said.
Another political analyst Musa Xulu said the ANC needed stability: “Luthuli House must allow the PEC, which they disbanded early this year, to reconvene and finish its term, which ends in July 2026. Siboniso Duma in government has proved himself to be a leader with an ear. The team he led was equally up to the task. This would be the only way to restore order,” he said.