Prof Bheki Mngomezulu | Failure to navigate conflict an indictment of Mbalula’s leadership

When Fikile Mbalula was elected the ANC Youth League’s Secretary for Political Education in 1996, there were high hopes that he was being prepared for higher positions within the ANC.

This general view was confirmed in 1998 when he was elevated to the position of the ANCYL’s secretary- general – a position he held until 2004. 

Working under the charismatic ANCYL President Malusi Gigaba, Mbalula executed his job relatively well. As the engine of the ANCYL, he became more visible and vocal on many issues. It was during this time that many Youth League structures recognised him as he visited their gatherings across the country.

It did not come as a surprise that Mbalula and Gigaba – together with Julius Malema – ended up being Members of Parliament. They had cut their teeth in politics as ANCYL leaders.

However, since becoming the 17th secretary-general of the ANC on December 19, 2022, all of Mbalula’s credentials enumerated above have completely disappeared. 

Having served in ANCYL structures and the government, one would have expected that Mbalula would have amassed enough leadership skills, a clear understanding of the culture of the ANC, and leadership experience which would make his job easier. 

This has not been the case. Many people assess Mbalula based on his recent public spats and tantrums, irregularities in his utterances and unwarranted tough talk, even against his senior colleagues. 

A correct assessment should start with his media briefing soon after assuming his current secretary-general position.

Mbalula shocked many people when he told the world that in his new position, he would be telling the party’s president which minister sleeps on the job and who must be fired. 

This was the first sign that he was not equal to the task. 

The ANC president wields more power than the secretary-general. This means that the secretary-general cannot be the one instructing the president on how to lead the organisation.

As the ANC faced public criticism on various issues, Mbalula deviated from the organisation’s culture of keeping discussions secret. Unprovoked, he wittingly or unwittingly told the nation that, as the ANC, they defended former president Jacob Zuma on the Nkandla matter by claiming that the swimming pool was a fire pool.

This was an unnecessary statement to come from the ANC secretary-general, especially at the time when the party was receiving bad publicity.

Ideally, in his position, he should have been the one calling on other members to handle this matter professionally and in a disciplined manner.

Following the announcement by Zuma about the formation of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) on

December 16, last year, the national leadership of the ANC failed to read the political mood properly. Many of them were dismissive of Zuma and the MKP. This was a wrong move.

Ideally, during trying times, the ANC secretary-general’s astute leadership should prevail. 

Unfortunately, this was not the case with Mbalula. Instead of giving clear direction, he was the one derailing the train.

Among other things, he reduced the influence of MKP to KwaZulu-Natal. This point was wrongly picked up by Gwede Mantashe and ANCYL

President Collen Malatji during the May general election. In this case, the secretary-general of the ANC misled the people he was supposed to guide.

SACP secretary-general Solly Mapaila’s stance on the multiparty coalition has been consistent. His view is that the SACP was not properly consulted.

He has consistently blamed the ANC for sidelining the SACP while embracing the DA. 

In his view, this is tantamount to selling out. Instead of responding to Mapaila professionally and engaging him in his capacity as the secretary-general of the ANC which leads the Tripartite Alliance, Mbalula has resorted to public criticism of Mapaila. 

This has further weakened the alliance. It is within this context that the SACP did not accept the ANC’s invitation to celebrate 100 years of the multiparty coalition. 

This is an indictment of Mbalula as the incumbent secretary-general.

The recent public spat between DA’s Helen Zille and ANC’s Panyaza Lesufi on matters related to the multiparty coalition in the Government of National Unity (GNU) has put Mbalula’s leadership prowess in the spotlight. 

Instead of trying to understand why and how Lesufi engaged Zille in the manner he did, Mbalula

became confrontational. As secretary-general, he failed to engage Lesufi as a comrade. Instead, he accused him of being anti-GNU.

This resulted in Lesufi being summoned to Luthuli House to face the ANC leadership and explain himself. It emerged that he had been misconstrued. Eventually, the issue was resolved amicably. But Mbalula’s handling of the situation did not show astute leadership as secretary-general.

With two important dates for the ANC coming up, Mbalula’s leadership dexterity will be tested.

The first is the 2026 Local Government Election. Looking at the ANC’s poor performance in the 2021 local government elections, and its worst performance in the general election earlier this year, the organisation has its work cut out. Is Mbalula as secretary-general ready and able to reposition the ANC so that it can regroup and perform better in the coming local government elections?

I am doubtful if Mbalula will be equal to the task. Indeed, he is not the only leader of the ANC but as its secretary-general he is the engine that should propel the party in the right direction as his predecessors have done.

The second date of importance is the ANC’s elective conference in 2027. 

Unless something happens that changes the way the ANC does things,Ramaphosa will not contest the party presidency. 

This means that new contenders will come to the fore. What is Mbalula’s ambition for leading the ANC? Who are the other potential contenders? What are ANC members’ views about Lesufi as a potential leader? Who else is likely to be a contestant?

Depending on the answers one provides to these questions, Mbalula’s position as secretary- general would be subjected to fair scrutiny. 

Certainly, as the 17th ANC secretary-general, he has been the weakest of them all in many respects!

** Professor Bheki Mngomezulu is the Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy at the Nelson Mandela University. 

** The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of IOL or Independent Media.