The ANC’s decision to form a government of national unity with the DA will be put to the test at the party’s national general council (NGC) scheduled to start tomorrow.
The party’s midterm review will be the first opportunity for rank-and-file members to engage over the contested decision.
The ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) has been split on the issue, with some lobbying for the party to abandon the DA.
After several standoffs with the DA, the ANC decided to extend the GNU to include other parties, but its Luthuli House leaders have dragged their feet in implementing the decision.
“There are many of us who believe that the DA is not helping us and will most likely destroy our interests in the elections to come. I think this is the view held by the majority in the party, and this view will be tested during the NGC,” an insider said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and secretary-general Fikile Mbalula would have to work hard to convince delegates that it was the best possible decision after the 2024 election setback.
Another insider said the ANC’s economic policies would also come into question as it had failed to fully implement land expropriation without compensation.
“The conference must look at the changing global political conditions and we must take stock of the current attitude of the US,” the source said.
The conference must look at the changing global political conditions and we must take stock of the current attitude of the US. Should the country look further towards the East or should we continue to reset relations with the US, and what are the benefits of each of these decisions? We must also discuss our position on the continent and in [the] Brics [bloc of nations].
“Should the country look further towards the East or should we continue to reset relations with the US, and what are the benefits of each of these decisions? We must also discuss our position on the continent and in [the] Brics [bloc of nations].
“I think this is far more important than the composition of the GNU. I don’t doubt that the GNU will be at the centre of discussions, but the economy and the state of the party going into the 2026 elections should be our focus.”
“Rogue elements” in the party want to see Ramaphosa humiliated, but the source doubted that delegates would fall into that trap.
“There are some who want to use the NGC to show the president the middle finger. There are a few disgruntled [members] who see this as an opportunity to springboard their favoured successors.
“We will see some of that, but I think delegates are aware that we can’t be distracted by theatrics. We cannot afford for Ramaphosa to leave in the same way as [former presidents Jacob] Zuma and [Thabo] Mbeki. We can never make that mistake again. If anything, I think the president will receive a huge rallying call from members. The delegates will close ranks.”
The Sunday Times understands that some in the party tried to court Mbeki to stand in as interim leader should their plan to oust Ramaphosa succeed. Sources close to Mbeki said he rejected the advances.
A high-ranking ANC leader said they believed the plot emanated from members of the former radical economic transformation (RET) faction.
The plan would have been acted on at the NGC, but was foiled when NEC members who were approached for support rejected the move.
The insider said the disgruntled few were disillusioned after Ramaphosa failed to punish the DA over the budget fallout.
“There are some who believe that the president does not care about the party. They will want to use the blunder at the councillors’ roll call as an example. What he said was political suicide, no-one can deny that, but I think we can recover from it. What we can’t recover from is another loss at the polls.
“The problems in KZN are persisting. He chose to put his friends there and they are failing to rebuild the party. If we lose eThekwini to Zuma, we will have lost any chance of regaining lost ground in the province and we will continue to bleed votes. Who can you blame if not the president? He and the NEC must answer to the 2024 elections. I think we should prepare for the NEC to be taken to task, and rightfully so.”
At the roll call event in Johannesburg in September, Ramaphosa admitted it was “painful” that DA-led municipalities often outperformed those run by the ANC. He urged ANC councillors to learn from DA-run cities such as Cape Town and Stellenbosch.
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