Mbalula on ANC succession debate: ‘It could divert us from recovery’

Fikile Mbalula

Cape Town – ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has expressed concern that discussions about who will succeed party leader Cyril Ramaphosa are distracting the organisation from its goal of recovering from its poor performance in the 2024 general elections.

Speaking with Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh at a Freedom Dialogue event in Johannesburg, Mbalula emphasised the need to focus on rebuilding the party rather than engaging in leadership debates at this stage.

The ANC lost significant ground in the 2024 elections, with its support dropping to 35% in Gauteng and losing its majority in KwaZulu-Natal, while Jacob Zuma’s MK party emerged as the third-largest political force.

In response, the ANC leadership has decided to reconfigure its provincial structures and delay leadership discussions until after the 2026 local government elections, which the party hopes to use as a chance to regain support.

ANC veteran Tokyo Sexwale recently endorsed Deputy President Paul Mashatile as a potential successor to Ramaphosa, who Sexwale described as being in the “departure lounge”.

However, Mbalula criticised Sexwale’s comments as polarising and premature, warning that such debates could derail the ANC’s recovery efforts.

Mbalula stressed that the party, currently at 40% support, should avoid leadership contests until it demonstrates a clear path to renewal, potentially even avoiding a contest altogether if recovery is strong.

“Tokyo shouldn’t be saying that because he’s just polarising the debate. I saw him throwing names and so on, nothing wrong. But as the leader of the ANC, he must be responsible; we are in danger here. You know, if you want to divert the ANC, just discuss the next leader.”

Mbalula also acknowledged that his own name has been mentioned as a possible future ANC president, a prospect he jokingly called a “great achievement” after only two and a half years as secretary-general.

Nevertheless, he maintained that the immediate priority is to “get the ANC on track” rather than fuel leadership speculation, urging members to adhere to “democratic centralism” and refrain from such discussions for now.

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