Mbalula denies ‘one-way erosion' of ANC's support in KwaZulu-Natal
Senior ANC leaders met with the party's reconfigured provincial task team in KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday.
The purpose of the visit was to monitor the new structure, which replaced elected officials after a dismal showing in the May 2024 elections.
Fikile Mbalula says ANC national leaders will focus on government-related issues at their next meeting with the task team in Durban.
The ANC's recently-constituted provincial task team (PTT) has led the party to two by-election wins out of a possible five - and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says based on these and previous other outcomes, there is no evidence of a 'one-way erosion' of the party's support in KwaZulu-Natal.
On Thursday, Mbalula, deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane and national executive committee deployees visited the ANC KwaZulu-Natal PTT to gauge the work done so far in its mandate to turn things around after seeing its support drop to 17% in the province.
Out of the last five by-elections where the PTT campaigned for the party this year, the ANC only won two, with the IFP and MK Party taking the rest.
Mbalula was asked whether he was worried that the ANC had lost some by-elections since May 2024 amid competition from the MK Party and IFP.
He said: 'Let's deal with facts. The ANC won an important IFP ward in uPhongolo. The ANC won in Moses Mabhida and lost two of its wards to the MKP.
'And other wards went to the IFP, but the ANC won some wards in the biggest contest in the General Gizenga region earlier.
'Everything is fluid but is [also] at an equilibrium. There is no one-way erosion of ANC support. The ANC has stood its ground.'
Today the Secretary-General's Office led by ANC Secretary-General, Cde Fikile Mbalula, convened a meeting with the KZN Provincial Task Team (PTT). The purpose of this meeting is to assess progress on the work of the PTT since its appointment by the National Executive Committee… pic.twitter.com/aowi3jqoKN
— ANC - African National Congress (@MYANC) May 8, 2025
Mbalula said any loss was 'worrisome', adding the PTT intervention was necessary to improve the ANC's 'battered' image and restore its 'standing' in communities.
He added the purpose of the visit to the PTT was to get a report from the structure, which he complimented for achieving a lot in a short space of time.
'The result of [that] will be seen in the long term. The elections next year will be an important test,' Mbalula said.
'We have lost. We didn't camouflage that. We're a 17% party and we need to get out of that.
'Is it [the PTT intervention] working up to this point? It is. There are sparkles of good work that has been done.'
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