ANC in KZN became too comfortable in power, says convener Jeff Radebe

The ANC in KZN had become so comfortable with being in power that it drifted away from those it led. This is one of the reasons for the party’s dismal performance in the 2024 national and provincial elections where it lost grip of the provincial government with voter support dropping from 55% to a mere 17%.

This is the assessment of the recently appointed convener of the provincial task team, ANC veteran Jeff Radebe, on Wednesday.

Radebe has been put in charge of reversing the decline of the ANC in the province a year ahead of the local government elections in 2026.

The provincial task team members are racing against time to stop the party’s slaughter at the polls, most which has been at the hands of former ANC president, now MK Party leader, Jacob Zuma.

Radebe on Wednesday said the ANC had to be honest about what led to its electoral decline.

“Comrades, let us not pretend. The ANC has drifted too far from its base. We became too comfortable with power, too bureaucratic, too disconnected from street-level struggles,” said Radebe. “In KZN especially, we have seen a growing divide between leadership and communities — a failure to respond, to serve, to be present.”

The gap created between the ANC and the people had led to a lot of discontent and it was now up to the provincial task team to save the organisation, he said. 

“And in that gap, frustration grows. Distrust grows. And populism steps in. Our programme of renewal in KZN is not a campaign slogan. It is a survival imperative — for the ANC and for the democratic project itself,” he said.

“We must restore activism over administration. We must bring back street committees, civic forums and branch life rooted in real issues — housing, water, clinics, jobs, crime. We must go back to being a movement, not just a party.”

Radebe urged civic organisations to take up their role in holding the ANC and the government accountable for service delivery.

“You are not spectators. You are partners. You are the reason this country didn’t burn completely during apartheid’s collapse. And you will be the reason this democracy finds its soul again,” said Radebe. “We are committing — here and now — to a new model of engagement between the ANC and civic society in KwaZulu-Natal.”

He proposed that the party and civic organisations hold quarterly meetings “not as guests, but as partners”, that there be direct feedback between community forums and the ANC’s provincial office and joint problem-solving teams on service delivery blockages, crime hotspots and youth unemployment.

“Let us not wait for elections to talk. Let us build now. In closing, let me be clear: this country is still worth fighting for. The people still believe — even when they are angry. They want this movement to rise again. But they want change, not speeches. Integrity, not slogans,” said Radebe.

“To all of you, who have organised in times of war and in times of peace — we need you. We respect you. And we ask you to walk with us again, as we rebuild the soul of the ANC, and the trust of our communities.

“Let us return to what made us strong: unity in action, discipline in leadership, and a stubborn belief that the people must come first.”

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