Luthuli House chief Fikile Mbalula has told ANC structures that there will be severe consequences for those starting campaigns for the next ANC conference in 2027.
After the ANC’s humiliating May 29 general election defeat, Mbalula says conversations about who must replace ANC head Cyril Ramaphosa are a no-go area.
For those who think he is bluffing, Mbalula dared them, saying that they must try it and that he will make an example of them.
The tough-talking Mbalula was addressing the media on the sidelines of the ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, on Thursday.
Potential presidential candidates
He said ANC structures must only be preoccupied with rebuilding after the organisation’s electoral misfortunes.
Anything else should be secondary, he charged, even for those calling for his name for the ANC top job.
ANC branches have begun whispering about potential ANC 2027 conference presidential candidates, with four names leading the pack.
Chiefly, they are Mbalula, ANC Gauteng chairperson Panyaza Lesufi, Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane, and ANC finance boss, Gwen Ramokgopa.
Mbalula said all of this will cease as soon as next week, when he starts enforcing military-style high discipline in the party.
The open season of ANC structures and leaders doing as they please with impunity has come to an end, he said, and anyone who tries their luck will be thrown out of the rule book.
Getting the ANC back into line
“We are saying we must not be diverted and that we come from a terrible, horrible, and disastrous election campaign that gave us 40%, and the first thing that [some ANC members] think of is who becomes a leader after President Ramaphosa; it can’t be,” he said.
“In that discussion, we are going to suppress it to the moon and back until it happens at the right time. Not that it shouldn’t happen. We are not going to entertain it now.
“We know that there are people who are whispering; if we find them, we are going to suppress it.
“You would have never seen such suppression in your life in the ANC; you are going to see that now. The [succession debate] is not important now.
“The ANC is one foot in, one foot out; our preoccupation cannot be who becomes the next leader; the next conference is in 2027; in 2024, you are on the verge of losing elections; the biggest preoccupation is who becomes the leader.”
Mbalula said his office was seized with the task of getting the ANC back into line.
The responsibility placed on his shoulders was too big for him to fail, hence the aggressive line he will take against wayward ANC members and leaders.
I am not afraid to lead
As for his name being bandied about for the 2027 national conference, he said he was not shy about taking it up, but he would pronounce himself at the right time.
“You journalists, you are not to be blamed, but you know when you plant the seed about who wants to lead is coming to you at night and then they tell you their interest; they come through gossip at night, but you guys write because it’s a nice headline like ‘Fikile Mbalula 2027’.
“I’m not afraid of leading, and I’m also not afraid of being led, both ways. I’m in charge now; this position that I hold as the SG [secretary-general] is a very big responsibility. Only I can undermine this work that ANC members have given me.”
The ANC NEC continues until Saturday.
