ANC insists it is ‘not shaken’ by MK Party's growth amid crisis warnings

ANC NEC member Dickson Masemola says the party is ‘not shaken’ by the growth of the MK Party, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, despite warnings that Jacob Zuma’s party could secure outright majorities in some municipalities and draw significant support away from the ANC.

Masemola spoke to IOL News on the sidelines of the ANC’s national general council (NGC) meeting at the Birchwood Hotel in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, where the party is reviewing its performance over the current term.

Masemola, who also serves as Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, described the council as an important constitutional gathering for the ANC.

“It’s a very important, strategic platform for the organisation to reassess. In this case, we are here to assess progress on work done since the 2022 national conference, mid-term towards the 2027 national conference of the NEC. Most importantly, this conference is very unique,” he said.

He said that the council sits a year ahead of the municipal elections and just over two years before the next national conference.

“So the sequencing of these two major political and electoral events is primary to our longevity and durability as the African National Congress.”

Masemola said the ANC must “reoccupy the lost imagination in society” and deal decisively with issues of corruption.

“I want to place it on record that the NEC is very impatient. We cannot accept situations where corruption becomes a permanent feature of our administrative systems of government.”

With the ANC facing an uphill battle to retain key urban municipalities in 2026 amid corruption allegations and failing service delivery, Masemola said law enforcement and investigative agencies, including the SIU, were doing essential work.

He added that the next 10 months were critical ahead of elections expected between November 2025 and January 2027.

“We don’t have time, and that’s why we are impatient with deployees who are dragging their feet and not appreciating the challenges of the moment.”

Masemola also addressed the MK Party’s momentum, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, where it recently won yet another ward from the ANC.

Mandeni Local Municipality’s Ward 17 became vacant after the ANC suspended councillor Siphesihle Ntuli following a criminal complaint by the family of slain resident Siyabonga Makhoba. 

In the by-election, the ANC’s candidate secured only 36% of the vote, while the MK Party won with 48%.

The result stripped the ANC of its majority in the 35-seat council, leaving it with just 17 seats.

Masemola admitted the ANC had performed poorly in KZN.

“The ANC in the 2024 national and provincial elections did not perform as we expected. It came as a surprise,” he said. However, he insisted the party was regaining lost ground.

Masemola, convener of the NEC deployees to KZN, said the ANC was working closely with provincial and regional interim structures.

“I am confident the people of KZN don’t dislike the ANC. There were things not properly handled before the national elections. But we are gradually regaining ground and political presence.”

Meanwhile, political analyst Professor Susan Booysen criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa’s remarks at the council, saying they reflected how deep the party’s crisis had become.

“Ramaphosa’s speech was clear that the ANC is in desperate times. He emphasised that renewal is necessary, yet these issues have been there for a long time,” she said in an interview with IOL News at the hotel.

The ANC has been “in crisis for almost two decades,” she added, saying that the party had now lost its outright national majority.

She said Ramaphosa correctly diagnosed the ANC’s problems but failed to inspire confidence.

“They accept they are not as strong as before. But we do not see definitive action or proposals to ensure recovery.”

Ramaphosa has blamed the ANC’s poor performance in the May 2024 elections on weak door-to-door campaigning, saying the party failed to maintain direct contact with its traditional supporters. 

Voter turnout among ANC supporters was significantly lower, contributing to the party’s drop from 57.5% in 2019 to 40.18% in 2024. 

It now governs through a Government of National Unity.

“We must go back to basics,” Ramaphosa told delegates. 

“Being closely connected and rooted with our people is what made us strong.”

Booysen said the ANC’s talk of renewal “sounded hollow,” particularly regarding its prospects in major metropolitan municipalities.

“Since 2016 it has been sliding, and in 2021 it lost outright power in additional metros. I have not seen evidence that the ANC can renew itself to the level needed to regain those metros.”

She said by-elections showed the ANC remained competitive but not dominant.

“They are not collapsing. They are still winning many by-elections, but they are losing some - to the DA, MK Party, EFF, and in some cases the Patriotic Alliance. They are staying in the game, but they are not retaking majority power.”

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