By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) in the Eastern Cape faces another legal challenge following the establishment of the Provincial Task Team (PTT), after the expiry of the Provincial Executive Committee’s (PEC) term.
The ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) disbanded the PEC and installed a 39-member Provincial Task Team (PTT) led by convenor Oscar Mabuyane.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula unveiled the party’s new 39-member PTT on Thursday, 21 May 2026.
This intervention followed a prolonged legal battle in which aggrieved members successfully interdicted the 10th Provincial Elective Conference over branch audit and credential disputes.
The composition of the task team already points to which faction is being positioned for dominance ahead of both the provincial elective conference and the 2026 local government elections.
Lulama Ngcukayitobi was replaced by Nanziwe Rulashe-Nesi in the top five officials.
Ngcukayitobi’s exclusion from the top five leadership positions has emerged as one of the most contentious aspects of the reconfiguration.
Internal debates have flared up between rival factions over whether the national leadership exceeded its mandate by selectively altering the leadership structure rather than transitioning the entire expired committee.
Critics have aggressively questioned the fairness of the layout, while defenders maintain the changes are fully compliant with party rules.
Further details have now emerged from a formal deployment directive issued by Mbalula to ANC leadership structures and deployees in the province.
The letter instructs that the formal transition of all provincial ANC affairs from the dissolved PEC to the newly established PTT must be completed within 14 days of the directive being issued.
According to the letter, the process must follow a handover protocol provided by Luthuli House to ensure an orderly transfer of organisational responsibilities.
Mbalula also directed that all ANC local and regional structures in the Eastern Cape immediately place themselves under the political and organisational authority of the PTT.
The letter further states that the establishment of the PTT is fully compliant with the ANC Constitution.
It does not override or bypass ongoing High Court proceedings that initially halted the party’s provincial elective conference.
Despite threats of a legal challenge from within party ranks, Mbalula insisted the establishment of the PTT was a constitutional and routine organisational intervention.