Zuma presence in KZN contributed to poor ANC showing during elections

ANC

Cape Town — Political experts have said it would be wrong of the African National Congress (ANC) to blame the party’s leadership in Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) for their poor performances.

According to IOL, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula called a meeting with the provincial leaders in Gauteng and KZN following the underperformance of the party. The move has sparked speculation that the provincial committees may be disbanded.

Mbalula wrote an invitation letter and made it clear that the PEC members needed to attend the meeting.  But the agenda remains unclear.

“It is compulsory that all PEC members attend the meeting with the NWC. The agenda of the meeting will be shared in due course,” the letter read.

Part of the meeting is that there are concerns that the present leadership would not be sufficiently prepared to go head-on with MKP in the province. The purpose of the next meeting is to give the province input on the most recent performance evaluations of the elections.

Mtolo told the national ANC that they should not be blamed for their own mistakes, and asked Ramaphosa and Mbalula, as party leaders,  to explain why the party failed to win the elections.

“ANC nationally got 40%, meaning the NEC lost the country by 40%. The NEC led by Ramaphosa and Mbalula lost the country to that. They must take that responsibility,” he said.

He admitted that he and Duma would take responsibility for the party’s poor showing in KZN.

University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (UKZN) lecturer, Zakhele Ndlovu, said the ANC cannot hold its leaders responsible for the party’s poor performance in the province as the emergence of Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party was a big contributing factor, The Citizen reported.

Ndlovu said the ANC performed poorly throughout the country at the previous elections and it should not be blamed on one structure, but instead the entire organisation.

The ANC was beaten comprehensively by the MK Party, who received 45% of the votes, and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) who received 18% of the votes in the province. The province is currently governed by a Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) comprising the IFP, ANC, DA and National Freedom Party.

While Ndlovu castigated Luthuli House, he criticised the party’s provincial chairperson, Siboniso Duma and Provincial secretary, Bheki Mtolo, for showing immature leadership styles. Both Duma and Mtolo have a history of altercations with opposition parties.

“Those guys come across as being very immature, especially the secretary because he is someone who speaks without putting any thinking into it. He is very reckless, he displays immaturity. Same with the chairperson, Duma, who has done some things that make you wonder if he is competent to be a leader,” Ndlovu said.

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He said it would be wrong for the ANC leadership to disband the KZN PEC as it may cause further divisions.

“Also, you can’t blame the PEC for the dismal performance of the ANC in KZN because Zuma is just too powerful in KZN,” he said,

Ndlovu said Zuma enjoys so much support because he plays the ethnic and victimhood cards well, as people will sympathise with Zuma as they believe he is being prosecuted.

It would be unwise of Ramaphosa and the party’s top brass national executive committee to single out the KZN PEC because even the NEC themselves had not done well.

“I don’t think that it will be a smart move to disband the KZN PEC. The ANC is divided and to dissolve the structure and to pick on KZN could have unintended consequences,” Ndlovu said.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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