Only a “foolish” ANC presidential hopeful would lobby for the disbandment of the Gauteng provincial executive committee.
This was the chilling warning by ANC Gauteng head of elections Lebogang Maile, who is also in charge of the provincial government’s purse as finance and economic development MEC.
Maile said this during a wide-ranging interview with our flagship podcast, Sunday World Engage, this week, adding that such a decision would destroy the branches in the province and build resentment towards such a hopeful who would then inherit a weak ANC in Gauteng. And with the province viewed as one famous for mostly voting as a bloc at ANC national conferences, whoever destroys the province might kiss their ambition goodbye.
The ANC NEC, in its next meeting, is expected to discuss the matter of whether Gauteng and KZN should be disbanded because of election outcomes.
In the interview, Maile spoke strongly against the push “in a little corner” to disband ANC Gauteng leadership following the May 29 polls.
“We do hear that [talk of disbanding Gauteng PEC]. People speak about these things in restaurants, shebeens, bars, boardrooms and everywhere. But it will be foolish for anyone to think that you must destroy structures of the ANC to pursue a personal interest in 2027, but what it means is that you are going to inherit an ANC that is even weaker,” charged the no-nonsense Maile.
“If you have interest in leading the ANC, whether in the province or national, you must focus on consolidating the structures so that if you ascend, you take over a strong organisation.
“Remember 2027 will be in December, so what it means is that you only have 2028 to build, and there is not enough time because by June 2028 you must start with your [2029 general elections] list processes and all that,” he continued spitting fire. “So, you are not going to have time to build structures; that time is now, and you do not want people to be discouraged and planning against each other, collaborating with our opponents to weaken the ANC.”
Although it is unclear to whom Maile was referring, rumours circulated in political circles that several people were eyeing the party’s top position in 2027 and laying the groundwork for their rise to the top.
Among them is Luthuli House boss, secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, who has had several run-ins with the ANC Gauteng leaders, fights which reached boiling point when he summoned provincial chairperson Panyaza Lesufi to Pixley Seme Street to intimidate him.
Maile said any talks that Gauteng must be disbanded because of poor electoral outcomes were narrow and suffering from poverty of politics. Such an approach was not only devoid of scientific politics but was a testament to the sinister motives behind such calls.
“The election outcome cannot be the responsibility of the provincial leadership alone. Fortunately, the ANC runs a unitary structure, and there is one strategy for elections, so if there are people saying the Gauteng strategy has failed, it means those people were not there and do not know what they are talking about,” Maile said.
“However, as a disciplined member of the ANC, I would accept the decision if it comes from a properly constituted NEC.
“But of course, we would want to hear what the reasons are because I do not want to belong to an organisation that behaves like a pig that eats its own children. The organisation that I joined, that I love, and that I work hard for is an organisation that is caring; an organisation that is rational and that discusses and analyses material conditions as they emerge and, based on that, formulates a response that is concrete.”
He emphasised that using election outcomes as a ruse to disband Gauteng PEC was going to end in tears for everyone.
“You do not just sit in your little corners and decide that we are disbanding these ones. It is not going to help the ANC; it will weaken it further because we have a lot of challenges as things are.”
