There are fears within the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal that the MK Party plans to collapse municipalities in the province — leading to by-elections that would see the ANC wiped out of councils, including the eThekwini metro.
ANC insiders said there were suspicions that a number of ANC councillors were secretly working with the MKP during the election campaign and would resign en masse, forcing by-elections in areas where the MKP received a majority of votes.
The ANC in KZN managed a mere 17% of the votes, a huge drop from the 54% it received in the 2019 elections, while the MKP won more that 45%. There is a push for Luthuli House to disband the KZN provincial executive committee.
Senior ANC members this week said they suspect that senior party leaders, and leaders in regions and branches, were working with the MKP while still campaigning for the ANC. There is suspicion that they sabotaged the ruling party’s campaign by cutting services to communities. The eThekwini municipality was hit by water and electricity cuts for months leading up to the elections. ANC bosses also suspect that the eThekwini metro strike by city employees that halted services for weeks was part of the ploy to discredit the ANC.
Should the ANC councillors resign, this could see the ANC not only lose control of the province but also of key municipalities that it controlled after the 2021 local government elections.
The message now is clear and what we must do is to view this as a message, not defeat
— Mafika Mndebele, ANC KZN spokesperson
“Everybody knows we campaign with comrades who are MK in ANC T-shirts — the crippling strike that left our people living among filth with no water and electricity just before elections — we know some of our comrades were actively sabotaging the ANC’s efforts to end it,” a regional executive committee leader said.
Even though the MKP won more votes that any other party in KZN, it would not be able to form a government on its own. By Saturday, parties in the province were scrambling to find partners to form coalitions. EFF leader Julius Malema told a media briefing on Saturday that his party was willing to work with the MKP in KZN.
The Sunday Times has learnt of at least three ANC senior leaders who have informally approached parties such as the DA, IFP and other small parties for talks towards constituting a government.
On Saturday, the ANC was third on the results scoreboard behind the MKP and the IFP. An ANC spokesperson said the party had accepted they were defeated and conceded that the party had not expected such a wipe out.
ANC KZN spokesperson Mafika Mndebele said they had not discounted a presence in government despite their poor electoral performance. He said that the ANC would only consider co-governing with parties that would keep the province stable.
“Voters have given no one a clear majority, which then forces us to enter into coalition. As the ANC we are going to find partners, but foremost in our minds are those who will respect the institutions of government and push for stability, defend our economy,” Mndebele said.
He did not mention which which parties they would approach but said there were concerns about the MKP. “Our worry with MK is their understanding of governing, how they behave. For example, they are disputing the election results, those are people who make us worry. Yes we are discussing coalitions with many people but for us the benchmark is not desperately maintaining government — but stability.”
The ANC’s decline was been recorded across the province, including former strongholds in eThekwini and uMgungundlovu. Mndebele attributed this to service delivery failures such as lack of water, electricity and the skyrocketing cost of living.
“We need to deal with water-shedding in Umlazi and Inanda. The cost of living and the price of basic needs is extremely high, that is the biggest issue of this protest vote. Yes, there was serious dissatisfaction. The message now is clear and what we must do is to view this as a message, not defeat.”
Senior ANC leaders who spoke to the Sunday Times said a clearer picture on the party’s involvement in constituting a government in KZN would emerge after the ANC national executive committee meeting today — but they believe there should be consequences for the region's leadership.
An ANC leader who did not want to be named said: “No-one can deny the JZ (Jacob Zuma) factor but we are also mindful of the failures of the provincial leadership. Part of how we as the ANC move forward from this defeat is acknowledging that and being decisive about this leadership.
“We are calling the DA now because of a crisis that we saw coming,” the source said.
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