A bold set of resolutions from the ANC’s Phusela branch in the Norman Mashabane Region in Limpopo has called for a full ban on blue-light convoys for ANC deployees and urged the party to dissolve the government of national unity (GNU).
These are resolutions that could spark debate at the ANC’s national general council (NGC), which is meant to review the party’s performance, discuss national issues and debate its policies and programmes.
The branch argues that blue-light convoys, long criticised for aggressive driving, entitlement, and public intimidation, have become the clearest symbol of a leadership disconnected from ordinary South Africans.
It proposes banning blue lights for ministers, MECs, mayors, speakers and all ANC deployees, with exceptions only for the president, deputy president and premiers. According to the branch, these convoys fuel public resentment and have contributed to the ANC’s electoral decline.
The Phusela branch also called for the dissolution of the GNU, or at a minimum, the removal of the DA. It warns that the unity government has weakened the ANC’s ability to govern decisively. Should the GNU continue to restrict policy direction, the branch argues that the ANC should rather govern as a minority rather than compromise its ideological programme.
These positions were strongly echoed at the ANC Youth League’s (ANCYL) 2nd NGC held in Kimberley. The Youth League also declared youth unemployment a national disaster.
The ANCYL emphasised accountability, recognition of high-performing municipalities, and fielding youth and women candidates in the upcoming local government elections.
Other resolutions addressed education, crime, gender-based violence, water as a human right, and economic transformation, including calls for land expropriation without compensation, nationalisation of strategic industries and beneficiation of minerals.
In support of policy-focused discussions, SACP spokesperson Mbulelo Mandlana stressed that NGC debates must be grounded in principle rather than factional battles.
“Our position is that policy discussions should be the focus of the NGC. The ANC cannot make decisions based on irrelevant policies it has had in the past. The fact that they have meetings like these that focus on policies, that tradition is commended,” Mandlana said. He
