Ml Muhammad Bham | mbham@radioislam.co.za
16 May 2023 | 9:15 CAT
3 min read

Photo Credit: SABC News

An ANC delegation, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, visited KwaZulu-Natal at the weekend to meet with the provincial executive committee.

The party’s national working committee has already visited all regions within the province.

Indications are that Ramaphosa and ANC leaders are gearing up for next year’s much anticipated national elections.

Surveys indicate a support base of anything around 50%, most below 50% to as low as 37%. The more likely scenario nationally is that the ANC will not achieve an absolute majority; if it is a best-case scenario for them, it will be a meagre 50%.

However, the indications are far-reaching among other provinces at stake for the ANC in KwaZulu Natal.

The history of Kwa Zulu Natal since 1994 reflects a division between the IFP and the ANC. Under the Zuma administration, there were deliberate attempts to undermine the IFP. Still, with recent changes in the Kingdom of the Zulu and the appointment of a new King, the political environment has changed.

There was a strong reaction against what happened in Kwa Zulu Natal from an ANC perspective (the 2021 alliance), and local by-elections have shown the IFP performing exceptionally well.

There is an intense scenario that the dominance of the ANC in KZN may be at risk. Rumours are also making rounds that there are negotiations between the ANC and the IFP.

Political analyst Prof Andre Duvenhage says the current woes in the province are due to infighting within the ANC, with KZN as their primary base. The RET faction, Jacob Zuma, the court cases against him, the mobilisation, and the action taken or not taken against ANC-KZN, mainly as more than 300 people were killed in July 2021, and R50 billion worth of damage done, havoc and chaos was prevalent everywhere. No action was taken against the perpetrators because this was a rebellion revolt from within the ANC against the ANC and specifically against the leadership of Cyril Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa is active in Kwa Zulu Natal, as there is a need to consolidate. Ramaphosa said when they met in Boksburg recently that this election would be the hardest. The ANC must go to the outskirts of South Africa to mobilise support (referring to the rural areas).

Presently, the resistance against the ANC is in the urban areas and less in the rural areas, a typical dynamic seen with movements like ZANU-PF in Zimbabwe.

KZN is still the biggest province of the ANC regarding membership; therefore, it is imperative to get that base to achieve an absolute majority. The National Freedom Party (NFP), a strategic move from the side of the ANC, is not performing well, and the IFP is making a comeback.

Listen to the full interview with Sulaimaan Ravat on Sabahul Muslim here