The ANC's national working committee (NWC) is expected to visit KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng following an assessment by its national executive committee (NEC) on its electoral outcomes.
This could be the first sign the party may eventually disband the two provinces should it be met with a dire state of affairs.
The ANC lost its majority in the two provinces. Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were considered vital for the ANC to maintain its dominance in the country.
In Gauteng the party's support declined from 53.2% in 2019 to 36.47% this year. In KwaZulu-Natal it was almost annihilated by the MK Party formed by its former president Jacob Zuma walking away with 17.67% of votes. Until announcing he would endorse another party, Zuma was considered the ANC's biggest drawcard in KwaZulu-Natal.
TimesLIVE Premium understands the NEC mandated the NWC to visit the two provinces as a matter of urgency in the coming weeks.
It's understood the visits are expected to take place in August.
This comes as the ANC is looking towards the 2026 local government elections with little prospects of regaining its metros in Gauteng and having decreased to 42.14% in eThekwini in the 2021 local government elections.
ANC national spokesperson Zuko Godlimpi denied the party had zeroed in on the two provinces, saying it had mandated its NWC to visit all its structures.
While some ANC national leaders are lobbying on the sidelines for disbandment, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, provincial executive committee members who spoke to TimesLIVE Premium said they would not take any decision to dissolve the province lying down.
Two provincial leaders said the ANC's national leaders must respond to their own dismal showing in the polls.
The ANC, which leads a government of national unity, lost control of the country after holding power for 30 years.
The KwaZulu-Natal provincial leadership may also rely on the support of secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, who has in the past thwarted moves to dissolve the structure. Mbalula previously told TimesLIVE the ANC had no intentions to disband structures.
It's understood that when making his presentation to the NEC last week, head of elections Mdumiseni Ntuli was scathing about the KwaZulu-Natal leadership which the ANC had "long identified" as having no capacity to lead an election.
The insiders privy to the presentation said Ntuli identified the ANC's strained relationships with the Zulu royal family, traditional leaders, the Nazareth Baptist Church and its ground forces. Its biggest problem was the MK Party, which took votes out of its traditional support base.
They said Ntuli had also taken issue with the provincial leadership who had blocked the work of its national deployees in assisting with its elections work.
According to the ANC leaders, the provincial leadership failed to incorporate Mike Mabuyakhulu as ANC national coordinator of elections and blocked several high-ranking party leaders, including Zweli Mkhize, from assisting with its campaign work.
Mabuyakhulu had been roped in by the ANC's national leadership in 2023 to bolster the party’s election prospects in the province as the party feared leadership deficiencies could cost it votes.
The ANC veteran was mandated to focus his work in IFP strongholds in district municipalities.
While briefing the media on the sidelines of the NEC, deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane said the party would put together programmes focused on rebuilding and repurposing its Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal structures.
She said the ANC will start with membership of the organisation, including political education, conscientisation of members and building an organisation which attracts activists.
A branch of the ANC that is functional must not be measured on the basis of 100 members, but it must be on the basis of its programme in the community, with those members of the ANC working in the communities
— ANC deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane
Mokonyane said the ANC had not yet discussed a disbandment. She said the party was continuing to assess its election outcomes.
" Once you have that understanding, we then go out and engage with everybody, self-correct. Whether it has to be self-correction, strengthen, but ensure you do not just kick people out."
Mokonyane said some of the discussions during the meeting included enforcing renewal. She said the recruitment of members must go hand in hand with political education, adding that a dynamic ANC must be its primary mission.
She said an ANC preoccupied with elections of internal structures must be something of the past.
"A branch of the ANC that is functional must not be measured on the basis of 100 members, but it must be on the basis of its programme in the community, with those members of the ANC working in the communities, so it's not only a door to door for the first time in five years. The call for an activist-led ANC is the right call now so we don't only go and do door to door three months before the elections," she said.
This is not the first time the ANC has deployed its NWC to the two provinces.
In May last year, the NWC visited the two provinces to assess whether it would need to intervene as polls indicated it would not win the 2024 elections.
The ANC opted against disbandment, arguing it was too close to the elections to make major changes. It opted to strengthen the provinces by deploying its national leaders.
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