Disband the NEC now, Lungisa tells the ANC

Behind the tightly sealed doors of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in the East Rand last week, a storm was brewing.

Sources with direct knowledge of the closed session say tensions reached a boiling point when NEC member Andile Lungisa called for the immediate disbandment of the party’s top leadership structure, accusing it of being “politically bankrupt” and incapable of leading the ANC through its deepest post-apartheid crisis.

According to insiders who spoke to The Star on condition of anonymity, Lungisa’s intervention came during a heated exchange over the party’s poor electoral performance and the growing backlash against the Government of National Unity (GNU).

“This NEC cannot unite the movement, it cannot reform the ANC, and it cannot be trusted to lead renewal,” Lungisa is reported to have said, prompting murmurs of agreement from some corners of the meeting. Lungisa’s remarks, though blunt, have touched a nerve within the party.

Several NEC members, especially those aligned with disillusioned grassroots structures, are said to quietly agree that the leadership collective under President Cyril Ramaphosa is out of touch and out of ideas. One source described the meeting as “the beginning of a reckoning.”At the heart of the discontent is the ANC’s decision to govern alongside the Democratic Alliance in the newly formed GNU.

For many within the party, the move represents an ideological betrayal that has cost the ANC dearly. “Our people cannot tell the difference between us and the DA anymore,” said one NEC member.

“That alliance pushed the SACP away and fractured our base.”The ANC’s electoral decline in June — dropping below 50 percent nationally for the first time — has amplified frustrations. However, many within the party believe the GNU is only part of the problem.

A growing number of members are pointing fingers at the leadership’s handling of former president Jacob Zuma and the events that led to the formation of the MK Party.

“There’s no question that driving Zuma out without political tact was a blunder,” a senior member close to the NEC told The Star.

“It created an opening for MK, and that was the biggest blow in KwaZulu-Natal. We handed over our strongholds without a fight.”

Zuma’s breakaway party captured significant support, especially among voters who had once been loyal to the ANC. Internally, many now regard the rupture not just as a political miscalculation, but as evidence of leadership failure.

During the meeting, Lungisa proposed that the party consider a transitional leadership structure to steer the ANC through a period of renewal. He suggested former president Thabo Mbeki take the role of convener, with former deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe assisting in rebuilding credibility and enforcing organisational discipline.

While no formal motion to disband the NEC was tabled, the conversation has ignited growing calls for introspection — and potentially, radical restructuring.“There is fear among some in the NEC that this is just the beginning,” said an insider.

“If the current leadership refuses to confront its failures, others will force the issue.”

Last night The Star tried to jeer Lungisa to speak, on a call that lasted less than a minute, Lungisa said: “The discussions in the NEC are not public, so I cannot comment on what you’ve heard”