Why the ANC's KwaZulu-Natal task team was disbanded: A tale of leadership struggles

Gossiping about each other at the Luthuli House and prioritising to be elected as leaders over rebuilding provincial structures is what led to the KwaZulu-Natal ANC provincial task team (PTT) being shown the door, said ANC insiders. 

An ANC regional leader in the province said the relationship among PTT members had reached its lowest level. 

On the sidelines of the ANC’s National General Council (NGC) meeting in Boksburg this week, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, announced that the PTT would be disbanded for its failure to achieve the National Executive Committee’s (NEC) goal to rebuild the ANC in the province, which was previously its strongest province in the country.  

This resulted in the PTTs dismal failure to carry out the mandate of rebuilding the ANC structures.

The PTT was appointed in February this year, with former Justice and Constitutional Development minister Jeff Radebe as its convenor and former economic development MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu as its coordinator.   

The PTT was appointed to replace the provincial executive committee, whose chairperson was Siboniso Duma and secretary was Bheki Mtolo, after the ANC had lost control of the provincial government after last year’s general elections.

The sources said when it was appointed, the PTT was given two weeks to start a process of calling branch executive meetings (BGMs) to elect new branch leaders.

“There were zero BGMs held ahead of the NGC,” said one of the leaders. 

When it was appointed, the PTT was instructed to disband all branches and regions and reconstitute them. 

“However delegates from the province were sent to the NGC by non-existing branches, meaning those delegates represented cooked or fake branches,” he said. 

Another ANC insider from the province said there were “total” differences between Radebe and Mabuyakhulu. 

“They are failing even to convene BGMs, and even this NGC was attended by cooked branches,” said another leader. 

However, another member blamed PTT members for being more interested in promoting themselves to be elected leaders in the upcoming provincial elective conference “than working on the ground in rebuilding the structures of the movement.” 

The member said they would be members of the PTT who would travel to Johannesburg to meet Mbalula and gossip about others, telling him who should lead and who should not. 

“That is why he (Mbalula) says they are fighting.

“It is not Mike and Jeff who are doing this, but it is the younger ones,” he said.

Spokesperson for the outgoing PTT, Fanle Sibisi, said the PTT has accepted the disbandment although it had not met the NEC on the issue. 

He said the PTT was initially supposed to operate for nine months, but its existence was extended to the first half of next year. 

“The PTT accepts and welcomes the decision as it is, with the purview of the NEC to decide such a nature, and we are not worried about it. 

“As long as it is going to help the organisation, we will be there to support and ensure that the work of the organisation continues,” he said.

Sibisi said rebuilding ANC provincial structures was a process that could not be achieved overnight. 

“Hence, we started a process to appoint regional task teams (RETs) across 11 regions in the province, which we did successfully.

“Then the RET was also tasked to appoint branch task teams (BTTs), of which at least 90% have been concluded [although] there are still challenges in some of the regions, but we are attending to that and we are in a process of rebuilding structures,” said Sibisi.

Admitting that there were differences, Sibisi said, “Of course, in a structure of 66 people there would be views that are differing, which is why there is a collective leadership.”  

bongani.hans@inl.co.za