Mbalula: ‘We don't like the DA or the GNU, but it was a tactical choice’

ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula says the party does not like its GNU partner, the DA or the Government of National Unity (GNU), but insists the GNU was a tactical choice made under tough circumstances.

Speaking during a media briefing on Tuesday in Johannesburg, Mbalula responded to recent comments made by ANC veteran Naledi Pandor, who criticised the state of the party during a memorial lecture honouring the late ANC Women’s League president, Getrude Shope.

Pandor said the ANC had lost its former glory and that many South Africans now see the party with “disdain, horror and shame”. 

She added that Shope, who passed away in May and would have turned 100 this month, would have been deeply disappointed by the corruption and lack of leadership in the ANC today.

“There is nothing worse in an organisation or a country than a leader who has no solution,” Pandor said. 

“The people are looking to us to resolve the crisis - not to ask others how to fix it.”

Mbalula, however, said Pandor was not attacking the party but was rather highlighting the need for its renewal.

“I’ve listened to her. She said all the right things about what needs to be done. She wasn’t critical of the ANC - she was talking about how we would rebuild the ANC,” he said.

Mbalula also addressed the GNU, which was formed after the ANC failed to win a majority in the May 2024 general elections.

This was the first time that happened since 1994. 

The ANC was forced to share power, and entered into a coalition government at the national level with rival parties including the DA and Freedom Front Plus.

“Who likes the DA? We don’t like the DA. We don’t like the GNU. But the GNU was a tactical move - one of several options we had,” Mbalula said.

The DA, which is the largest partner in the GNU, has opposed several key policies introduced by the ANC, which leads the GNU.

Tensions between the two parties have persisted since the GNU’s formation, with the DA at times threatening to withdraw.

However, it has ultimately chosen to remain, claiming its commitment to holding those involved in corruption and nepotism accountable, and to implementing legislation aimed at economic growth and job creation

Meanwhile, Mbalula said the decision to form the GNU was not about liking the other parties, but about making the best out of a difficult situation.

“The parties we’re working with don’t agree with us ideologically. They’re our political opponents,” he said. “But we decided as the ANC that the GNU was the best option - not a long-term strategy, but a short-term fix.”

He added that the GNU will not last forever.

“If it ends, that’s okay. At some point, the people of South Africa will decide what happens next. But for now, the ANC made the choice to go this route.”

According to him the ANC had other options, including forming a minority government, re-running the election, or forming a two-party coalition - but chose the GNU to allow broad participation.

Mbalula also pushed back against suggestions of internal division over the formation of the GNU, saying the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) took the decision together and that all members are expected to support it.

“There are some who didn’t understand it, which is why we, as leaders, went out to explain the decision to our members,” he said.

“In the end, the NEC made this choice, and we all carry the responsibility to stand by it and explain it.”

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

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