The ANC is unlikely to hold its leader President Cyril Ramaphosa, his fellow officials and the National Executive Committee accountable for the poor electoral performance that saw it lose its parliamentary majority for the first time.
The party held its first NEC meeting for the year 2025 in Boksburg discussing in the main, the plight of the Provincial Executive Committees of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal who have been singled out as being responsible for the devastating defeat.
The ANC could only manage 40 percent of the nationally, a drop of 17 percent as compared to 2019 with KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng shedding the most votes.
Secretary General Fikile Mbalula said on the sidelines of the NEC meeting that no member of the ANC had sought to hold the national leadership accountable for the decline.
“The NEC is taking responsibility by assessing what happened and driving this process in order to reverse the decline. The ANC is a democratic organisation, anyone is allowed to petition the NEC, conference to say we’re not happy with leadership but no one has done that so we move, we are fixing the two provinces but in the end we will visit all provinces,” he said.Mbalula denies the two provinces were being scapegoated.“ we know that some have said but what about the NEC and so on, that the two provinces are being targeted because certain people have ambitions and so on, it’s not true, the ANC wants to reinforce itself and is not going to be held at ransom by individuals,” said Mbalula.
The Western Cape also performed badly dashing hopes of the liberation movement ever regaining control of the province but its leadership is not being taken to task in the current process.
“We had a very successful January 8th celebration in the Western Cape, and this is indicative of our efforts of consolidating our support in that province. The ANC has not given up on the Western Cape. We are not going to be permanently in opposition in that province, if we do the same may happen in these two provinces as well,” said the Secretary General.
Mbalula said the ANC will first announce its decision to members before the media, suggesting the two PECs may not be disbanded.National Spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri had made a similar suggestion earlier even mentioning names of individuals who could be brought in to reinforce structures.
“The ANC’s brain trust in those provinces, veterans and others who understand the strategic objectives of the ANC on the ground, mobilisation on the ground. I’d use an example of Jeff Radebe, Mike Mabuyakhulu in KZN,” she said.