The new ANC buzzword “reconfigure” is said to be the brainchild of President Cyril Ramaphosa himself, who suggested it as a euphemism to avoid conflict over the scrapping of the party’s structures in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
A faction believed to be aligned to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula was pushing for disbandment of the two provincial executive committees (PECs), while a group associated with Deputy President Paul Mashatile argued that they should be kept as they were.
The national executive committee (NEC) met last weekend and decided to “reconfigure” the PECs following the dismal performance of the ANC in the two provinces in the May 2024 polls.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the ANC won just 17.2% of the vote to take third place. It is now part of a coalition led by the IFP.
In Gauteng the ANC won 34.5% — 19 percentage points down on 2019 — and formed a government with the help of smaller parties, excluding the DA.
Last weekend’s NEC meeting essentially decided to dissolve the two PECs, but could not say so in so many words. Ramaphosa is said to have insisted that whatever decision was made, neither of the rival groups should be able to claim victory.
“Clearly we’re dissolving them, but we couldn’t say that because it means you are creating winners and losers between Mbalula and Mashatile,” said a senior party leader.
Ramaphosa is said to have stressed that his role was to maintain unity.
“So it’s a middle ground, there must be no winners and there must be no losers. That was the president’s intervention,” said the insider. “He told them essentially that ‘it’s my role as the president to unite you as leaders of the ANC’.
“If there was no fight between Paul and Mbaks [Mashatile and Mbalula], we were just simply going to dissolve them and call it that, but because we’re avoiding this thing of having winners and losers, we are settling for this route of reconfiguring.”
Clearly we’re dissolving them, but we couldn’t say that because it means you are creating winners and losers between Mbalula and Mashatile
— ANC insider
There has been confusion in the party about exactly what reconfiguration means, because the concept does not figure in the party’s constitution, which only talks about the NEC’s right to “suspend” or “dissolve” PECs.
But the Sunday Times can reveal that the PECs in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng will be dissolved this week.
Several insiders who spoke on condition of anonymity said this was the only option.
“Reconfiguration is actually strengthening the structure. It will include aspects of dissolution of some sort but the focus of the exercise will not be to dissolve structures, but to make them stronger,” one source said.
This party leader said the term reconfiguration was chosen because “many” of the current PEC members will return to leadership roles in the new structures.
In Gauteng the party chair, premier Panyaza Lesufi, is likely to be appointed convener of the new structure — or “task team” — but Ramaphosa is said to want two co-conveners.
“The suggestion so far is that we will have co-conveners, bring in a new co-ordinator, because I don’t think we will make TK [Nciza] as the co-ordinator. But Panyaza, I do think we will keep him,” said another party leader. Nciza is the provincial secretary.
“We haven’t discussed it in detail but it looks like that’s the route we’re taking, unless someone brings another view that is widely accepted.”
Another insider said the idea was to “bring in NEC members and senior members of the organisation who are not in the NEC. This will be done in both provinces.”
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