Panyaza Lesufi warns ANC members of looming leadership crisis ahead of NGC

ANC provincial chairperson and Gauteng provincial task team coordinator, Panyaza Lesufi, has given a critical assessment of the state of the ANC ahead of the party's National General Council (NGC) meeting next week.

Lesufi, who addressed delegates to the party's 18 Regional Conference currently under way at the Cedarwoods Conference Centre on Wednesday evening, was scathing in his critical overview of the party and its leadership crisis.

He urged party members to save the ANC and do everything possible to prevent it from becoming a "sinking ship" amid electoral losses across the country, provinces, and local levels.

This three-day regional elective conference has pitted current Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero, who seeks to retain his current position as regional chairperson, against Loyiso Masuku, a member of the mayoral committee for Finance.

In June, the ANC Gauteng provincial task team dissolved the party’s Johannesburg regional executive committee, causing delays and drawing a stern warning from ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula.

Last week, he set a strict five-day deadline for the Johannesburg region to hold this conference in time for the NGC.

In his address, Lesufi asserted that it is a misconception to believe that the masses have abandoned the ANC for smaller parties; rather, he contended, it is the ANC that has distanced itself from the people it serves. 

"Our people are very clear that they have not left us, but we, as the leaders, have left our people. They raise sharply the issues they believe we have neglected. Our people are unemployed. They want jobs, and we have demonstrated to them that we do not have a plan or a programme to give them jobs. They want to feed their families, but find themselves unable to do so, because they do not know anyone," he stated.

He further decried the lack of compassion many of the parties' elected leaders were showing South Africans, who want leaders of the ANC to resolve issues of poverty, high unemployment, the immigration crisis, and other socio-economic challenges.

He also urged ANC members to refrain from acting as if the party still has a majority in local, provincial, and national elections, when it is co-governing with other parties.

Lesufi stated: "At one stage, the numbers in the council were more than 55%, but now were are far less than that. Let me tell you what the problem is, comrades... When we lose power and still behave as if we still control these municipalities... We must reaffirm that we are capable of fixing our problems."

Lesufi said that, to regain the trust of South Africans, every single member of the ANC must work hard, as the trust deficit has become a hindrance.

He said corruption and other foreign practices have resulted in some of their leaders being probed by commissions such as the Madlanga Commission, further bringing the party into disrepute.

"Some of the things we see at the Madlanga Commission are deeply embarrassing. They are exposing us that we are playing with power. You play with power comrades, it is gone. It will never come back. You can ask our comrades in Cape Town, Western Cape,'' he added.

Lesufi also urged those who will be representing the province at the NGC to champion the issues and policies of the party, without fear.

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