ANC’s grand plan to win back Gauteng ‘will be difficult’ to achieve

The African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng says it will unleash strong and capable leaders to take back all lost municipalities in the province, but an analyst says they have an uphill battle to do so.

The party lost all major municipalities in the province, including Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni in the 2021 Local Government Elections (LGE).

This pushed them into uncomfortable coalitions and sometimes led to a revolving door of mayors and coalitions.

‘A very strong army of cadres’

On Monday evening, Gauteng Provincial Secretary Thembinkosi (TK) Nciza told a gathering of ANC supporters in Johannesburg that the province was prepared to turn around its bad fortunes.

“We want to promise the national leadership that we are preparing a very strong army of people, a very strong army of cadres, selfless cadres who are going to the elections in 2026 to bring back the dignity of the ANC,” he said.

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A call for unity in the ANC

Nciza said the province understands that it had not performed well in the last provincial elections and previous municipal elections.

But he said the “blame game” would not help. “Instead, it will divide the ANC further.”

He called on all structures of the ANC to “close ranks” and to move as a block towards the next local government elections.

Nciza also appealed to ANC councillors and public representatives in local government to ensure that services are being delivered in communities.

“We must make our forebears proud by building an organisation of the people. Let’s go on the ground, comrades, in the name of our mothers, in the name of people who fought in this struggle and work for the people,” he said.

Diagnostic report on Gauteng

On Monday, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula told party supporters gathered in Johannesburg that the party would discuss a diagnostic report on the performance of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal at the national elections earlier this year.

Mbalula said he would meet with the provincial leadership in both provinces to discuss their performance.

“We are still going to come back, comrade [Premier] Panyaza [Lesufi], to Gauteng after the National Executive Committee (NEC) sits down with you and tells you your weaknesses and your strengths and work with you as a province to build a strong ANC,” he said.

‘ANC faces uphill battle to reclaim Gauteng metros’

Political analyst Ntsikelelo Breakfast from Nelson Mandela University said it would be difficult for the ANC to regain its strength in the municipalities it lost in Gauteng.

“It would be difficult for the ANC to win the Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane metro’s because this is where they have been hurt the most.

“The ANC has faced the most challenges in urban areas, largely due to how the middle class shapes certain discourses.

However, Breakfast said the ANC could still have significant influence in the rural areas.

“I would agree with the argument that the ANC might still have power in the rural municipalities. If they want the urban areas, they will have to do a major shakeup because people in the urban areas are educated. They have their own opinions and can think for themselves,” he said.

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