ANC's ambitious plan to stabilise KZN leadership ahead of the 2026 local elections
ANC spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu, briefed the media on the developments of Day 2 of the National General Council (NGC).
Image: Kamogelo Moichela/IOL Poltics
ANC said it was “steaming ahead” with a sweeping rebuild of its fractured provincial structures, even as internal divisions, fierce competition and voter anger threaten to further erode its standing ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
The ANC has pledged to intensify efforts to stabilise and rebuild its KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Provincial Executive Committee (PEC), despite what it conceded was a sharp and deeply worrying electoral decline in the province.
Delivering the party’s mid-year political overview at the National General Council (NGC) on Monday, leaders admitted that KZN had become one of the organisation’s most volatile and vulnerable battlegrounds.
No retreat
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said on Tuesday that the party was not retreating from the province — but rather escalating its organisational recovery drive.
“The programme of rebuilding the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is still steaming ahead. We are continuing with that work. We will be reinforcing, for example, the deployment of organisers in that province,” Bhengu said.
She added that the provincial task team established to arrest the decline would also be strengthened.
The urgency is clear. The ANC’s support in KZN crashed from more than 50% in 2019 to about 17% in 2024, forcing the party into a coalition government for the first time in the province’s democratic history.
The rise of former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party which surged to dominance in the province has been a decisive blow.
IFP's grip
The IFP’s renewed strength in rural areas has further tightened the squeeze.
Internally, factionalism and power struggles have paralysed the ANC’s ability to govern and campaign, driving a wedge between leaders and communities.
Bhengu acknowledged the severity of the crisis: “We have identified our key areas and key pressure points,” she said.
“But we must hasten to say we are also quite humbled by some of the work that is done by our deployees in KZN.”
She pointed to improvements in transport and human settlements as examples of governance efforts the party hopes will help rebuild public confidence.
In his opening address at the NGC, President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered an unusually stark warning: the ANC must unite or “perish.”
MKP support
He conceded that the MKP had drained significant support and that corruption, unemployment and failing services had further alienated voters.
The historically low turnout of 58% had also hurt the party more than its rivals.
Despite this, the ANC insisted its rebuild plan is gaining traction. The party added it was working “tirelessly” to restore trust, a task that may determine whether it survives the next electoral test in KZN.
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