The reconfigured ANC provincial task team in KwaZulu-Natal wants former members who dumped the party to return to its fold.
Image: IOL / Independent Newspapers
Fresh doubts have surfaced over whether the reconfigured ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial task team (PTT) can reverse the party’s decline, largely driven by the rise of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP).
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula this week announced changes to the structure, with former Cabinet minister and party veteran Jeff Radebe removed and replaced by former MEC and deputy provincial chairperson Mike Mabuyakhulu, who previously served as PTT coordinator.
Former eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo has been appointed as the new PTT coordinator. Mbalula is expected to return to KwaZulu-Natal in the coming week to announce additional members.
Speaking in an interview with The Sunday Independent this week, Nxumalo said the previous PTT had been too large, consisting of around 66 members, prompting a decision to reduce it to about 30 to 35.
He said Luthuli House had also been dissatisfied with the slow pace of implementing directives aimed at rebuilding the ANC, uniting its structures and preparing for the upcoming local government elections.
“We don’t have time, as you know we will be going for the forthcoming local government elections between November up to January 2027,” Nxumalo said.
He expressed confidence that the reconfigured PTT was up to the task.
“We must make sure that we win back the province of KZN into the fold of the ANC. The ANC was dislodged by counterrevolutionary forces, including the MKP,” he said.
Nxumalo, a member of the SACP central committee and its former KwaZulu-Natal chairperson, added that a key priority would be to bring back former ANC members who had joined other parties.
“Our task is to ensure that we bring back as many people as possible, including those who left the ANC and joined other political parties, including the MKP, and warmly welcome them back home,” he said.
He added that the PTT was ready to engage with concerns raised by former members, rebuild the organisation and improve service delivery.
However, University of KwaZulu-Natal-based political analyst Zakhele Ndlovu expressed scepticism about the prospects of success.
“I don’t see this reconfiguration helping the ANC regain the support it has lost, particularly to the MKP. This change reflects frustration at the lack of progress in convincing those who left to return,” he said.
Ndlovu added that divisions within the party remained a major obstacle.
“I don’t think the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal can rebuild and unite. Some of its members even sympathise with the MKP,” he said.
Political analyst and director of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy at Nelson Mandela University, Prof Bheki Mngomezulu, said the ANC had struggled to counter the MKP and to explain its cooperation with the DA and the IFP, which prevented former president Jacob Zuma’s party from forming the provincial government despite securing the most seats.
He said the decision to reconfigure the PTT was understandable in principle.
“Jeff (Radebe) and Mike (Mabuyakhulu) had different approaches. Mike wanted the ANC to humble itself before voters and rebuild. Jeff appeared more impatient, suggesting those who did not toe the line should be expelled,” Mngomezulu said.
However, he believes the intervention may have come too late.
“The same Mbalula who announced the changes previously described the PTT as a Toyota Tazz, rather than the Ferrari Luthuli House had hoped for. There is a trust deficit between Luthuli House and the KwaZulu-Natal PTT,” he said.
Mngomezulu added that the ANC’s problems in KwaZulu-Natal mirror its broader national challenges.
“Until the ANC reorganises itself nationally, the KwaZulu-Natal PTT will not perform miracles,” he said.
He also questioned whether members of the reconfigured team would be able to deliver.
“Some of those in the trimmed PTT have failed in their previous and current roles. What will make them efficient and effective now?” he asked.
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