By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) Secretary General Fikile Mbalula says the party’ National Executive Committee (NEC) will consider the option to dissolve the KZN and Gauteng structures.
The NEC is convening a meeting to decide the future of Provincial Executive Committees in both provinces after their poor performances in the May 2024 elections.
The two provinces were the party’s biggest losers at the polls, with Gauteng dropping from more than 50% to 36% of the vote, while KZN declined from 54.2% in 2019 to 17%.
The ANC also suffered a sharp decline nationally, dropping to 40% electoral support. This was the first time since the dawn of democracy, which saw party losing its majority across the country.
The disbanding decision of the two PECs favoured by most National Working Committee (NWC) members but the move collapsed after President Cyril Ramaphosa had shot down the idea.
Top leaders like Nomvula Mokonyane, the deputy secretary-general and deputy president Paul Mashatile said they would not support the plan, instead, they would come up with ideas to improve the PECs.
Mbalula told the media on the sidelines, that the organisation has various options to consider.
He added that as the ANC continues with its renewal path, the party will not take anything for granted.
“As you know we are highly challenged, and we have lost power in the Western Cape, and we are still struggling to come back. So, we don’t want what happened in the Western Cape to follow us in the two provinces. It is important that leadership takes decisions and gives guidance to the structures. We have been told many things that decisions have been considered for individual interests,” said Mbalula.
The party said the outcome and decisions of its NEC meeting will be communicated once the ANC has informed its provincial structures about what was deliberated during the two-day gathering.
Meanwhile the former ANC MP Bruce Kannemeyer passed away at the age of 60.
In a statement released this morning, the provincial ANC described him as a loyal servant of the people and a committed advocate for unity and justice.
The former teacher was an active member of the Western Cape Teachers Union in the 80s and played a key role in establishing the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU).
Kannemeyer was elected to Parliament as an ANC MP in 1999, where he represented the Western Cape constituency. He served in the National Assembly until 2004, when he resigned.
After leaving Parliament, the ANC deployed Kannemeyer to local government, where he served as Municipal Manager in Stellenbosch and later in the Free State.
The party also lost a veteran of the South Africa’s liberation struggle, a former chief of military intelligence of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and a former major-general in the SANDF, Maj-Gen Keith Matila Mokoape, passed away at a hospital in Midrand on Thursday morning.
Born in Wallmansthal, Pretoria, in 1947, Mokoape was a lifelong activist committed to the fight for South Africa’s freedom, his family said. He was one of the founders of the South African Students’ Organisation and a key figure in the Black Consciousness Movement.
Mokoape was honoured with the Order of Luthuli in Silver by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018 for his outstanding contribution to the liberation movement.
The ANC Veterans League, of which he was a member, said his efforts to become a doctor were thwarted when he left the country and joined the ANC and MK in 1972.