'Some comrades are letting us down in a big way': Mbalula cracks the whip

“Shape up or ship out.” This is the warning ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has sent to party deployees, some of whom have become complacent in their positions in government. 

Cabinet members, mayors and other deployees will no longer be comfortable in their jobs while the country and municipalities continue to deteriorate, Mbalula said. 

The ANC government has been criticised by many for its failures, including a lack of basic service delivery, job creation and deteriorating infrastructure, including roads, among other things. 

This has led to suggestions that these failures will come back to bite the ANC in the 2024 national and provincial elections. 

Mbalula, who has been at the helm of Luthuli House for just under two months, has promised to crack the whip, saying non-performers have no place in the ANC.

“Those who don’t perform, their days are numbered. You don’t perform, you are out.”

He attributed the party's failures to a “weak ANC at Luthuli House”. 

Now the party is going to look at municipalities and departments it runs and intervene where needed, he said. 

The ANC's second deputy secretary-general Maropene Ramokgopa will focus on monitoring and evaluating the work of deployees. 

Mbalula said ministers cannot keep appearing in interviews on TV while they have nothing to show for it. 

“This thing of ministers being loose and not being held accountable will come to an end. Ministers have not been held accountable by the party because the ANC has been weak in Luthuli House.”

Deployees in government were jeopardising the ANC’s electoral fortunes as many South Africans are unhappy with the party's performance, he added. 

“Truth be told, some of our comrades are letting us down in a very big way, we must not camouflage that.”

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.