By Simon Nare
KwaZulu-Natal ANC provincial task team convenor Jeff Radebe has acknowledged that the party’s massive decline in the national and provincial elections was due to arrogance and many mistakes committed by the party in the province.
Radebe was speaking to journalists in Durban after the task team held its first meeting to map a way forward following the reshuffling of the elected provincial leadership. This was after the province’s poor performance at the polls.
Radebe did not go into much detail about the mistakes committed by the party, but emphasised that the task team would be cracking down on officials deployed in the provincial government of national unity and municipalities to make sure that the masses received service delivery
“Seventeen percent is a disaster. It reflects that the arrogance of the ANC has cost us the vote. I and my colleagues we come with a fresh perspective that we want to start from ground zero to move brick by brick, root and branch to ensure that all the mistakes that the ANC has done previously are corrected timeously and that we get back to where we are supposed to be,” said Radebe.
The veteran also pointed to corruption and factionalism which he said must be dealt with decisively internally. He cautioned that no space should be given to corrupt elements in its ranks nor allowing certain individuals to use their positions to gain advantage in their corrupt ways.
“We face an existential threat which requires drastic measures to turn things around. Our collective goal is to bring back people home to the ANC. We have to fight back to regain the confidence of our people.
“We must redouble our efforts to mobilise our traditional base which includes the white, coloured and Indian community, including our alliance partners, the SACP, Cosatu and SANCO who must be part and parcel of our renewal project,” he said.
He said the NEC has given the task team three to six months:
• To rebuild and renew the ANC and reconnect the movement with all sectors of society in every community across the province
• To prepare for the 2026 local government elections, and
• To oversee the work of ANC Cadres deployed in the province and local government and ensure service delivery.
“We cannot deviate from this mandate,” he said
Coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu revealed that the team on their first meeting on Monday adopted a programme of action which people first at its centre.
“We are committed, and we are committing ourselves that everything we do we are going to put our people first. We will serve our people within the structures of our movement at branch level, at zonal level, at regional level and provincial level.
“The new approach is that we are going to be lifting the issues of the people and driving those issues. We are going to restore faith through our action, and we are clear we will lead as the ANC leadership and collective. We are going to lead with unity and we are going to practice unity in action,” he said.
He said the task team would set up an accountability mechanism that would the masses.
Mabuyakhulu said they were confident with the plan and programme. The work they were going to do would result in their supporters coming back to the party.
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