The newly-configured ANC leadership in KwaZulu-Natal will be taking a hard stance against councillors and its MECs who sleep on duty.
The party announced the bold decision on Wednesday in Durban at the once-governing party’s headquarters at the Pixley KaSeme House. Its provincial task team was represented by party veteran Jeff Radebe, who serves as convener. Together with coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu and deputy provincial coordinator Nomusa Dube, they addressed the media.
New sheriff in town
The briefing was convened after the ANC had met branch and regional leaders and its deployees in various government spheres on Monday. It was part of giving them the line of march as the new sheriffs in town.
“One of our principal tasks is to monitor all comrades deployed to the government of provincial unity (GPU). And also those deployed in municipalities as councillors. Useless councillors are depriving our communities of service delivery. This will come to an end. There will now be consequences on all our deployees who fail to perform,” Radebe said.
Radebe went to town. He said the ANC should rekindle the ethos of Ubuntu and massive service delivery. This was seen when it was co-governing the province with the IFP, he said.
“The Department of Transport and that of health, which we have in the GPU, will be used as model departments. When we were in the GPU back in 1994, Sbu Ndebele propelled the Department of Transport to the centre of service delivery. We want our deployees to emulate this example,” he further explained.
Ministers under the spotlight
The rod will also not be sparred for those serving the party as provincial district champions. Same will apply for ministers deployed to oversee the goals of the district development model.
Radebe also said it was unexpected that municipalities have to send billions of rands back to the National Treasury for failure to utilise the funds in the allocated time.
The ANC has embarked on a cleansing drive building the party structures from the ground. It believes this will arrest the electoral decline. Part of this clean-up was axing the provincial executive committee and replacing it with the provincial task them. This was done both in its key provinces of KZN and Gauteng.
In KZN it was bloodbath for the ANC during last year’s May general elections. The party plummeted from 54% it achieved in 2019 to a mediocre 17% of the provincial vote. It was forced to beg the IFP and DA in order to come back to power.
Basic services
Among the key issues which contributed to the ANC’s electoral woes in eThekwini metro. The metro contributes the biggest number in the elections. Its woes include the failure of the only metro in the province to deliver essential services. Particularly water, which residents lament going for months without this essential basic service.
Other party veterans Thoko Didiza, Donald, Selamolela, Penny Majodina, Steve Mmapaseka Letsike, Pam Tshwete, Angie Motshekga, Phumulo Masualle and Joe Maswanganye have since been deployed to KZN to bolster the party’s election machinery.
