'If we do not arrest the decline we will be in trouble': KZN ANC on elections

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal believes that if it does not get its act together, the party will lose outright governance in the province come 2024. 

On Thursday, the party reflected on its electoral performance. Provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli said failing to win eThekwini metro outright was a sign of worse things to come if the party did not address its decline in KwaZulu-Natal. 

“Losing our majority in eThekwini forces us into a deep reflection about the future of the ANC in the province — the immediate implication is if we do not address the challenges we will not come back in 2024. We have lost the ability to govern — if we do not arrest the decline we will be in trouble,” said Ntuli.

The ANC now stands at 42.02%. The party will have to form a coalition to govern eThekwini for the next five years. 

ANC provincial chair Sihle Zikalala said the party’s immediate task is to contribute towards stabilising local governance in the 18 councils where there was no outright winning party. 

“We will engage other parties on forming coalitions, guided by the principle of stability — we have seen how coalitions are sometimes not stable, we would want to agree with a party that there should be stability, clean governance and service delivery,” said Zikalala.

Zikalala also highlighted the party's requirement for a non-racist and non-sexist government and society. 

On what cost the party at the polls he said: “Unemployment, poverty and inequality — the failure of the ANC to change and ensure delivery and improvement of people’s living conditions. 

“Issues of divisions, weak structures and corruption and other weaknesses levelled against the ANC are a cause of dissatisfaction that led to ANC voters not turning up,” Zikalala explained. 

TimesLIVE

It’s never been as important to be in the know as it is now. Subscribe to Sunday Times today and get 50% off. Click here to subscribe.