The ANC national working committee (NWC) meeting on Friday evolved into a high-stakes confrontation, as the governing party’s leaders found themselves at an impasse over whether to disband the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal structures.
This controversial proposal arose after the huge decline in electoral support last year, and it has since exposed significant rifts within the party, leading up to a series of public spats between Gauteng Premier and provincial ANC chairman Panyaza Lesufi and ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula.
Ultimately, President Cyril Ramaphosa decided to take the matter to the broader 80-member national executive committee (NEC), which sat from yesterday afternoon, recognising the need for a more inclusive debate on the future of the party’s provincial structures.
As the NEC meeting kicked off, three options were on the table: maintenance of the status quo and continued focus on the renewal agenda; reinforcement of the existing provincial leadership structures by augmenting them with a team of organisational gurus and
veterans; or the total disbandment of the structures or suspension of their mandate.
Sunday World understands that the differing views of Mbalula and Lesufi’s backers mirrored the broader discord among the 20-member NWC on Friday, leading to a stalemate and little confidence that the bigger NEC cohort will be able to smoothly
resolve the issue. “The best-case scenario is that the NEC will debate until the wee hours of the morning (today) but the matter will be sent back to the national officials for a final decision,” said a person in Luthuli House.
During the contentious NWC discussions, Deputy President Paul Mashatile and Zizi Kodwa were criticised for their public denouncement of disbanding the structures.
“NEC members were very disgruntled that they publicly spoke about the disbanding without an official recommendation from the NWC. We then resolved to bar anyone from speaking about the matter,” an insider said.
Joining Mashatile and Kodwa in opposition were former basic education minister Angie Motshekga, finance minister Enoch Godongwana, and justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi. However, transport minister Barbara Creecy stood with those advocating for a structural overhaul.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said that on the agenda of the NWC was a report by the national officials on how to handle the dip in electoral support in Gauteng and KZN.
An ANC insider said a compromise solution in Gauteng could see the same team of provincial leaders reappointed as an interim task team led by a selected convenor and coordinator, whereas in KwaZulu-Natal there was a strong push for a complete overhaul based on a long-standing view that the provincial leaders are out of their depth.
