ANC is shooting itself on the foot: Analyst

One political analyst believes that the ANC is shooting itself on the foot with its decision to reconfigure the Provincial Executive Committees of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

The decision was taken at the country’s biggest political party’s highest decision-making structure, the National Executive Committe (NEC) over the weekend.

However, political fundi from Rhodes University, Asiphe Mxalisa, believes the move is a short-sighted self-sabotage.

“There could be a significant push-back from the affected leaders and factions, which could eventually lead to a further deepening of tensions within the party, particularly in their leadership structures in these two provinces,” warns Mxalisa.

“This could also result in some members of the provincial committee feeling marginalised, power taken from them; sidelined which could create divisions within the party,” adds Mxalisa.

The scholar says the already dissatisfied ANC could miss key constituencies within both provinces due to the risk taken to reconfigure leadership.

“People follow faces and the work that has been done by that political leader,” explains Mxalisa.

“The ANC’s base of support, particularly in the working-class areas, could see this move as a sign of political manipulation rather than genuine leadership change.”

She emphasises that the pending changes within both PECs should be elaborated upon critically to the party’s constituents to ensure that everyone is on the same page on the party’s broader mission and vision.

“There are also benefits as the reconfiguration could be seen as a very successful alignment of the leadership within the national party agenda in the Government of National Unity (GNU),” says Mxalisa.

“It could be a boost in terms of political understanding in these provinces as well as the mobilisation of support, the organising of strategies and structures, and responding to local issues effectively,” reiterates the political expert.

Independent political analyst, Goodenough Masego, says the decision revealed divisions within the NEC of the party on how to tackle both provinces’ pressing issues.

“The fact that they decided to reconfigure, when everybody else expected them announce a dissolution; it really says there was a compromise on the part of the NEC and that the debate they had over the two days produced some kind of a compromise whereby they didn’t want to dissolve, but didn’t want to keep it as it is,” remarks Mashego.

He believes the move is a contingency put in place as preparation for election of a new party president in 2027 when Cyril Ramaphosa’s term ends.

“I think what is being done right now and the reason it is being done is in preparation for the elections in 2027,” adds the independent political expert.

“This is a way of really preparing the next ANC leadership by making sure that there is very little opposition when they go to the 2027 elections that whoever Cyril Ramaphosa chooses to anoint emerges because there won’t be KZN or Gauteng members who are pulling in opposite direction and also carry on as they have always wanted the ANC to be.” Written by Odirile Rabolao